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1. Selections fbom Ibonqutll, W. M. Davidson. 

2. James Henby Lane, William Elsey Connelley. 

3. Wyandot Folk-Lobe, William Elsey Connelley. 

4. Bibds of Kansas, Benjamin F. Eyer. 

5. Kansas in Litebatube, Part I, William H. Carruth. 

6. Kansas in Litebatube, Part II, William H. Carruth. 

7. The Geologic Stoby of Kansas, L. C. Wooster. 

8. Kansas Tebbitobial Govebnobs , William Elsey Connelley. 

9. Plants and Flowebs of Kansas, Bernard B Smyth. 

10. John Bbown, Part I, William Elsey Connelley. 

11. John Bbown, Part II, William Elsey Connelley. 

12. Bichabd Realf'b Fbee-State Poems, Richard J. Hlnton. 

13. Julius Cjesab, Introduction by Margaret Hill McCarter. 

14. Macbeth, Introduction by Margaret Hill McCarter. 

15. Chablrs Robinson, F. W. Blackmar. 

16. Babby Redstabt, and Otheb Bibd Stobies, . . . Leander S. Keyser. 

17. Study of Histoby, Sociology, and Economics, . . . F. W. Blackmar. 

18. Silas Marker, Introduction by Margaret Hill McCarter. 

19. Merchant of Venice, .... Introduction by Margaret Hill McCarter. 

20. Evangeline, Notes by P. H. Pearson. 

In preparation: King Lear, The Great Stone Face, Snow Bound, 
Vision of Sir Launfal, MacCaulay's Essay on Milton. 

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THE CRANE CLASSICS 



NOTES BY 

P. H. PEARSON, A. M. 

Professor of the English Language and Literature 
at Bethany College 



EVANGELINE 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



EVANGELINE 



A TALE OF ACADIE 



BY 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



With a Biographical Sketch 

Suggestions for Study 

and Notes 



BY 



P. fl. PEARSON, A. M. 

Professor of the English Language and Literature 

at Bethany College 




Crane & Company, Publishers 

Topeka, Kansas 

1904 



mmmmmmmmm 
LIBRARY of GftNGRfSS 

Two Copies Received 

AUG J6 1904 

Oopyrfeht Entry 

OLAS* Dl XXe. No, 



T 



fe 



' COPY B 



Copyrighted by 
Crane & Company, Topeka, Kansas. 

1904. 




<UNlQ 



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Me 

!' 

* BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 

The year 18 07 gave to America two poets, John Green- 
leaf Whittier and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

In the home of his father, a lawyer of the city of Port- 
land, Longfellow had access to good books, and was early 
encouraged in his enthusiasm to make use of them. He was 
prepared for college in Portland Academy. Among his 
teachers at this institution were Mr. Carter and Mr. Jacob 
Abbott. In 1821 he passed the entrance examinations re- 
quired for admission to Bowdoin College, but on account 
of his youth he did not go up for residence study until a 
year later. 

At Bowdoin he had the advantage of living in the midst 
of a district noted for its attractive scenery: the forests, 
the pine hills, and the Androscoggin Falls were not far off. 
This region had, moreover, the charm of being associated 
with interesting Indian legends. 

Among his fellow-students at Bowdoin were several who 
later became famous — Nathaniel Hawthorne, classmate 
of the poet; J. 8. C. Abbott, the historian; and Franklin 
Pierce, afterwards President of the United States. 

During his college years, Longfellow contributed poems 
to publications in Portland and Boston. Some of these — 
as, for instance, " Thanksgiving " — appeared later on in 

(5) 



6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

the collection, " Voices of the Night." At graduation 
he ranked fourth in a class of thirty-eight. To him was 
assigned the English oration, the one of the commencement 
parts that carried with it the greatest distinction. 

Even before graduation he had attracted notice as a 
graceful and promising scholar. Consequently, when the 
trustees of Bowdoin were to select a professor for the re- 
cently established chair of modern languages, their eyes 
fell upon the young poet. He had, however, received no 
training that made him fully qualified to fill the position ; 
and they appointed him with the understanding that he 
was to spend some time in Europe to prepare for the work. 

Accordingly, in 1320 he set sail for Europe, and visited 
France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. During his stay in 
Europe he bout himself assiduously to the task of master- 
ing foreign languages and of studying their literatures. 

The only writing attempted while on this trip was a series 

of sketches in prose, consisting of impr >ns jotted down 

on his travels. These were brought our. in a little volume 
in 1835, under the title of "Outre-Mer; a Pilgrimage 
beyond the Sea." 

In 1829 he came hack to. America, and entered upon his 
duties as teacher. He became devoted to his work at on 
In the interest of his department he prepared a French 
grammar and edited some French and Spanish text 
. At Bowdoin he continued till 1834, when, through the 
resignation of Professor Ticknor, the chair of modern lan- 
guages at Harvard became vacant. Longfellow was recom- 
mended for the position, and received a call to succeed 
Ticknor. According to the stipulations of the call I 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ( 

to be granted leave of absence for a year or eighteen 
months, to be spent in Europe " for the more perfect 
attainment of German." 

His second European trip, on which he started in 1835, 
took him to northern Europe. He spent the summer of 
1835 in Stockholm, Sweden, where he at once began to 
study Swedish and also Finnish. While here he studied 
the literature of the country, and it is said that " Swedish 
poetry exercised upon him an influence not to be shaken 
off." On this trip he visited Switzerland, but spent most 
of his time at Heidelberg, Germany, where he devoted his 
time to the study of German literature. 

In 1836 he began his work at Harvard. Though he 
gave his time and energy faithfully to his duties, he dis- 
liked the work of teaching, on account of the time it took 
from those pursuits in authorship which he felt to be his 
chief work. . 

In 1854 he resigned his position at Harvard, and was 
succeeded by James Russell Lowell. The Smith Professor- 
ship of Modern Languages at Harvard, which was held by 
these three men, — Ticknor, Longfellow, and Lowell, — ac- 
complished the gigantic task of bringing American scholar- 
ship in the modern tongues and literatures up to a rank 
equal with that long held in the classics. Since the death 
of Lowell (1891) this professorship has remained vacant. 

After 1854 he continued to live at the old historic 
Craigie House; and now that he enjoyed freedom from 
lecturing and from supervising assistants, he gave his time 
entirely to authorship. He made two more trips to Europe, 
in 1842 and in 1868. His last years were as busy as 



8 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



those of hi? youth, so that up to the time of his death, in 
1882, he continued to bring out successive volumes of 
verse. 

Among his chief works may be mentioned the following : 
" Voices of the Night " and " Hyperion/' brought out in 
1839; "Ballads and Other Poems/' 1841. In 1845 
appeared " Poets and Poetry of Europe/' a collection 
of translations from the principal European languages. 
" Evangeline " was brought out in 1847, while the poet was 
in the midst of his duties as teacher at Harvard. " Hia- 
watha " was published in 1855 ; " Birds of Passage ' and 
"The Courtship of Miles Standish/' in 1858; "Tales of 
a Wavside Inn ' in 1863, and " The Divine Trasedv ' in 
1871. 

Among these works, some, indeed, bear close traces of 
European influence and inspiration, but taken as a whole 
they are the pride of our national American literature. 
Longfellow was a versatile writer. He wrote prose and 
poetry, made translations and adaptations, wrote stirring 
ballads, lyrics of sentiment and reflection, idyls, epics, and 
dramas. In respect to form, he made a success of meters 
that up to his time had very seldom been attempted in 
English. His poems appeal straight to the heart and to 
the best impulses in the human soul, so that he has justly 
earned the distinction of being " America's most beloved 
poet." 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY. 



The first principle according to the plan of study as here 
conceived-, is to let the purpose and spirit of the master- 
piece determine how it is to be treated in the class-room. 
This presupposes, at least on the part of the teacher, a 
ready responsiveness to the best elements in thought and 
form that the selection contains, an attitude certainly es- 
sential to the best results. Again, if the teacher has this 
kind of sympathetic appreciation of its value, he will be 
on his guard against allowing himself and his class to 
manipulate it as material merely for secondary purposes, 
no matter how useful these may be. He will find that the 
quickening thoughts and sentiments of a masterpiece, its 
truths and beauties, its form, its spirit as an organism, 
will insistently claim all the time, and more than he can 
give to it. 

In regard to details of method, all that can usually be 
done in the class-room may be grouped under three heads: 

Interpretation is such a process of dealing with a 
selection as leads the pupil to a clear realization of the 
thought and message the author intended to convey. Ob- 
scurities of Avhatever kind are cleared up — such as diffi- 
culties in language and construction; so also those refer- 
ences and allusions that tend to obstruct the way. The 
pupil is led to take cognizance of the hints and suggestions 
given, in order that every thought, sentiment, scene, char- 
acter, and situation may be realized in its completeness and 

fullness. Then, instead of dealing with the matter pre- 

(9) 



10 



SUGGESTIONS FOE STUDY 



sented as mere shadowy conceptions, he will revive it as a 
vitalizing experience, thereby instituting a true organic 
connection between the new truths and beauties and those 
already assimilated. 

At this stage the process will be largely analytic. So far 
as time allows, each thought is closely followed up, and 
each suggestion worked out. Here it is of importance to 
shape the work for the pupil in such a way that it becomes 
definite and manageable. The teacher should, in fact, see 
to it that the work is cast into a form which, by its su. 
gestiveness, furnishes a point of approach, calls for, and, 
so to say, invites the best efforts of the pupil. Again, the 
issue must not be something microscopic, thin, or fanciful ; 
it must alwavs have a vital relation to the central idea, and 
must always be something worth while. 

The readiest way, as it seems to the editor, of bringing 
the essential part of the work before the pupils in this man- 
ageable form is by means of a series of questions suggest- 
ively framed and consistently and logically correlated. 
These should be before the pupils while they prepare the 
portion of the text assigned as the lesson. The answers, 
to a part of these at least, should be written and handed 
in before the recitation begins. 

Appreciation is such further study of a masterpiece in 
its larger units as will lead to definite and ordered im- 
pressions of it as a whole. This does not necessarily call 
for a certain number of readings and re-readings. Though 
a fair amount of time should be allowed if thorough work 
is to be done, yet good results may be reached even b 
working through it once. In such cases the teacher and 
his class may stop at the natural divisions to gather up the 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 11 

threads, and, when the piece is finished, bring together the 
results in a synthetic review. It should be kept in mind 
that the larger problems will assume definite shape only 
after the selection has received some study. Appreciation 
is a synthetic process, the completion required by Interpre- 
tation, which is analvtic. 

Besides attempting to reach a definite, rational concep- 
tion of a piece as an organic unit, there is a further step 
involved in appreciation, namely, that of noting how it is 
related to other literary productions of its kind, — an at- 
tempt, in short, to ascertain its position historically. 

The special characteristics of a work taken up at this 
stage of the study require time for reflection. The prob- 
lems should, in fact, always be so formulated that the pupil, 
in dealing with them, will be necessitated to hold them 
before his mind for some time; concentration of attention 
and efforts at steady thinking are essential. The final 
result may be given either in a brief paper or in written 
propositions to be presented in full orally. Several topics 
of the kind mentioned, together with suggestions and ques- 
tions, are appended to this discussion. 

Disciplinary or Constructive Work. Though this 
kind of study does not apply (except in a special sense) 
to the poem "Evangeline," it is still mentioned here for 
the sake of the completeness of the outline. In the study 
of modern prose-writers, particularly the essayists, the 
teacher will find a most valuable aid in teachings composi- 
tion. Here literary study and composition-writing go hand 
in hand. After reading the sentences and paragraphs of 
Thoreau, Burroughs, Hawthorne, Stevenson, and Macaulay, 
the pupil should be able to make his own sentences and 



12 



SUGGESTIONS FOE STUDY 



paragraphs better in point of form. In the class of writers 
mentioned the teacher may adapt the work so as to afford 
some training like this, and still be fairly within the prov- 
ince of literary study. 

So far as this line of study can be applied to the present 
poem, it will take the form of an examination of the more 
primary principles that govern the movement of verse. 
A few of the topics to be taken up should be : The general 
character of the hexameter ; the kind of foot that prevails ; 
the difference in rhythm imparted by the use of the dactyl 
and the spondee respectively ; the function of pauses ; the 
distinction between " end-stopped " lines and " run-on ' 
lines, etc. A good deal is accomplished if the pupil has 
been led to give reasons for the movement of any certain 
line, and to tell whether or not it follows the thought 
closely. A few such exercises are included in this plan. 



Historical Basis and Occasion of the Poem. 

The wars waged between France and England during the 
eighteenth century extended to their colonies in America. 
The Peninsula of Nova Scotia, which had been alternately 
in the hands of the French and the English, was finally 
ceded to the English by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. 
The inhabitants, who were of French descent, were not 
much disturbed by the change of government until the 
French and Indian War, 1754-1763. They were then re- 
quired to swear allegiance to the English. Many of them, 
however, refused to become assimilated with this people, 
alien to them in customs, language, and religion. It w r as 
then that the English resorted to the cruel expedient of 



SUGGESTIONS FOE STUDY 13 

banishing them from their homes and their country. They 
were unexpectedly summoned to their places of worship, 
made prisoners, brought on board English transports, and 
carried to the New England colonies and the South. 

In regard to the occasion, it is related that Longfellow 
got the first suggestion for the poem while dining one day 
with Hawthorne and a friend of the latter, Rev. Mr. 
Conolly, of Boston. This gentleman stated " that he had 
been trying in vain to interest Hawthorne to write a story 
upon an incident which had been related to him by a par- 
ishioner of his, Mrs, Haliburton." He then related the 
substance of the story. Longfellow was touched by it, and 
told Hawthorne, " If you really do not want this incident 
for a tale, let me have it for a poem " ; and to this Haw- 
thorne consented. 

When were the earliest French settlements made in 
North America? Ascertain the geographical location of 
Acadia. What was the form of religion of the Aca- 
dians? What was their chief employment? Describe as 
vividly as possible their environments. Were they in close 
communication with England or France ? What was Eng- 
land's purpose in dispersing the settlers among her colo- 
nies ? Would the material of this tale have been well 
suited for a prose romance in the style of Hawthorne? 
What features of the story had, in all probability, chief 
attraction for Longfellow? 



The sources and references of which the poet makes con- 
stant use are mainly of three kinds : 

(a) The Scriptures. The expressions and the language 
as well as the thought and spirit of the Bible are before 



14 SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

the poet throughout. Of the sources and direct references, 
those pertaining to the Scriptures are the most numerous. 
Find instances where Scriptural sentiments and lan- 
guage are made use of in the utterances of the characters. 
Also, find instances of their occurrence in the descriptions 
and explanations given by the poet. Is it perfectly in keep- 
ing with the character of the people to find them making 
frequent reference to the Scriptures ? What general tone 
is infused into the poem by these references ? In respect 
to their religious character, what noticeable difference be- 
tween them and the Puritans as portrayed in the " Court- 
ship of Miles Standish" ? 



(fe) Folk-lore and History. Part of the poet's plan 
was to bring these people before us in their individuality, 
to single them out as a distinct community with its own 
marked characteristics of thought and feeling. To do this 
he lets us know of their descent, and of the ancestral tradi- 
tions preserved and cherished among the hardships inci- 
dent to their seclusion. 

Point out passages containing quaint beliefs and super- 
stitions. Give instances where these beliefs have evidently 

• 

been handed down as part of their ancestral traditions. 
Find also cases where they seem to be based on their pi 
ent environments. What effect does the poet have in mind 
in weaving bits of folk-lore into the story ? Are there any- 
where in the storv any touches of mysticism? Note 
whether their church service, betrothal ceremonies, dom< 
tic customs, or amusements present them as attached to tlic 
customs of their forefathers. Do the historic allusioi 
throw any light upon the patriotism of the Acadians in 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 



15 



such a way as to show to whom they thought they owed 
allegiance? Are these touches arid descriptions of their 
character given as separate bits of information, or are they 
brought in as organic parts of the story ? 



(c) Pioneer Life and Indian Traditions. The sec- 
ond half of the poem is made up largely of Western life. 
The descriptions are, in general, brought in as accounts of 
the life and employment of the exiled Acadians — coureurs- 
des-bois, voyageurs, hunters, and trappers. There is a good 
deal, too, of voyaging on the Ohio and the Mississippi, of 
camp life, plantations, Western ranches, of travel on the 
plains and in the mountains, of the early mission stations, 
etc. This also requires the constant mention of localities, 
which aids in imparting a distinct Western tone: Ozark 
Mountains, Opelousas, the Oregon, the Nebraska, Wind 
River Mountains, Sierras. The tales of Mowis the bride- 
groom of snow, and of the fair Lilinau, enrich the poem 
with Indian legends. A similar touch is found in the 
weather forecast by the Indians (156). 

What was their usual hour for retiring ? What custom 
is hinted at in line 200? Single out passages remarkable 
for local color. Mention some customs that will at once 
be recognized as true of a people in their situation. What 
expressions and descriptions bring the pioneer conditions 
before us most vividly ? Point out passages in which In- 
dian traits are depicted. Show how the appellation, 
" Black Robe Chief," is in truthful harmony with the en- 
vironments. Was it part of the poet's plan to present a 
complete and fully developed picture of any Indian char- 
acter ? 



16 SUGGESTIONS FOE STUDY 

Scope of the Story. The two parts of the poem ex- 
hibit a marked contrast in movement. The first part is 
crowded with descriptions, character portrayals, and inci- 
dents, and leads up to a climax in the death and burial of 
Evangeline's father and the simultaneous burning of the 
village. In tone it exhibits a contrast as it moves from 
joy to grief; the time covered is only a few days. 

The second part relates the wanderings of Evangeline ; 
as to time, it covers many years. Its tone is pathetic 
throughout, and works up to a climax in the concluding 
scene, where the lovers are brought together. 

What is the purpose of the Prelude ? In music a prelude 
forms either an approach to the main theme or introduces 
it in contrasted form. Why does the author divide the 
story into two parts ? Why does the first part end with 
the burning of the village? What effect is gained by lot- 
ting the proclamation be preceded by a scene of merriment 
and dancing? Does it contain any improbabilities 



Time and Place. The indefiniteness of the time ifl in- 
dicated by the first line and bv such lines B£ " Naught but 
tradition remains.' 1 The places where the plot ifl laid are 
not concealed under the guise of fictitious names, Tl 
localities may easily be found on any good map. 

How long time is covered by the first part i By the 
second part? Find passages that throw light on the time 

of the occurrences. Why is the time left indefinite { Lo- 
cate the principal places on the map. 

Description. The life of the poem consists in the 
continuous superb descriptions. In the very first fl 



SUGGESTIONS FOE STUDY 



17 



is a touch rarely excelled — " This is the forest primeval." 
It brings before the reader as if by magic, the original un- 
disturbed primordial conditions. Again the description 
flows on with a certain epic repose and fullness (43-57; 
87-1-02; 330-352). As an example of sustained grandeur 
and impressiveness may be cited the portrayal of the burn- 
ing of the village of Grand-Pre, beginning at line 613. 

Note the general description of the village, and point 
out those expressions and epithets that are particularly sug- 
gestive. Observe that after the general portrayal, particu- 
lars are brought in and the scene is animated. Compare 
the order here followed with that in the Deserted Village. 
Select other passages remarkable for conciseness and sug- 
gestiveness. Passages that illustrate the author's delicate 
feeling for the value of expressions. Descriptions that in- 
dicate his accuracy of observation. Are there any instances 
of improbabilities or undue heightening for the sake of 
effect ? What scene is described with most completeness ? 



Characters. We may study the characters of fiction 
from two points of view. First, as to the degree of their 
completeness. Then we shall find that the author has be- 
stowed more care and attention on the development of 
one or two of them, than on any of the others; in fact, 
the entire story has their portrayal as its purpose. These 
are the chief figures, or, as they are often called, heroes 
and heroines. Then we have a second class, that are 
sketched only sufficiently for the exigencies of the story; 
for the purpose they serve, not for their own sake, A third 
class consists of those whose function in the story is simply 
—2 



18 SUGGESTIONS I STUDY 

mechanical; they have a name, and sometimes n hat; 
at any rate, no individuality. 

The second point of view from which we may rd 

the characters of fiction is th< of their individuality. 

Then we have the individual, whose power and rem] 
ment differentiate him from all the other rhanu-t. rs, and 
bring him into prominence as a distinct force in the Btory. 
JSText, we have the conventional figure or the ty] He ia 
less distinct, because h< is one of a class, as the typical 
soldier, peasant, stubborn uncle, comic doctor, maiden aunt. 
Sometimes the author may take extra pains with on< 
these, and cause him to rise out of the (da— into distin 
individuality. Lastly, there is the mi i who is no1 

developed or even sketched, but simply mentioned. 

Find instances of character contrast ; note th< rtrayal 
of Benedict Bellefontaine and Basil the blacksmith. Wl. 
traits of Evangeline are mosl admirable Who is the m< 
heroic— Evangeline, or Gabriel? What incidents in tl 
Btory give us the clearest insight into their charaetei 
Find analogies to the personages here depicted in the 
uree of John Alden and Priscilla in "The Courtshi] 
Mil< andish." 



Elements ob Pathos a\ t > Tragedy. Grand fori 
wasted or paralyzed without reaching ^summation cor- 
responding to their nature, produce the effect of tragedy. 
Youth, beauty, and affections are such forces. In the 
of Evangeline they are united with mental energie a 
verv high order: witness her tireless search through the 
length and breadth of a vast continent Under propitious 
conditions such energy would have made her a ?ery promi- 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 



19 



nent character in the pursuits of ambition. We see these 
powers slowly crushed under a particularly adverse fate. 
The tale is no less pathetic because the here- and heroine 
do not succumb to sudden or violent forces. 

What do you regard as the most dramatic incident? 
What effect is served by such incidents as the one in which 
Gabriel passes Evangeline and her party on the Mississippi 
without discovering her ? Are there any supernatural ele- 
ments in the storv ? 



Its National Character. The poem is as .distinctly 
national and American as a poem can be that deals with 
the universal subjects of youth, love, and frustrated hopes. 
Among the single features that impart such a character to 
it may be mentioned the historical occurrence on which it 
is based, locality of the incidents, descriptions of pioneer 
life, Indian habits and traditions, and the men and women 
that appear. Another feature not to be overlooked is the 
way in which it is cut off from nearly all other poems not 
American. Here is almost a total absence of traditional 
poetic material, such as classic myths and allusions. 

Has its national character anything to do with its value 
as poetry ? Poetry springs from life, and depends for its 
poetic content on life ; again, poetry reacts on life, and 
moulds it. If this is true, we may well ask, " What kind 
of life has the poet depicted ? ' Incidents, episodes, senti- 
ments and feelings produce a different effect on us if they 
lie close at hand from what they do if they are remote. The 
poem which deals with themes and problems arising from 
our own environments and with the struggles of our own 
national existence, reflects the poetic side of life in a way 



20 SUGGESTIONS FOB UDY 

that is more helpful and more readily appreciated than if 

the theme were a foreign one. 



Dictiox. The poet readies tl thr« 

the use of the simplest means; hei in tl, x- 

pressions we find everywh moderation A 

suggestion of the epic manner may often be <»!> be 

accompaniment of ol»i - prais* : 

corn-loft"; "foaming streamlets"; "deep-voiced neigh- 
boring ocean"; "diligent shuttle"; oar' 
"honey fragrant with wild flowei The prin< ire 
of speech is the simil [1 is empl 
and vigor to the description ; but it U 
pand into an independent picturesque ho 

jiiles of Milton and I Comer. 

Find the pa- s that illustrate thi - skilful em- 

ployment of plain unadorned Ian/ _re. N a of 

brevity peculiar to poetic construction 1 >...-. the poet 
often ufte archaic or obsoL tpressions ( find in>tan<-r- 
where the i ifi heightened by the use of such words. 
Cite passages where picturesqueness is imparted by the 
simile and other figun Are there any case.- fixed 

adjective, like Homer's " swift-footed A.chill< I \ ai 

son's " lily maid M 1 

The Metbx is the old classic hexameter, that of Elomei 
Iliad and Odyssey, and of Virgil's J\n«-id. In English 
the best examples we have are Evangeline, dough's BotJ 
of Tober-na-Vuolich, and Kingsley's Andromed 

In the hexameter each line is made up of Bix measure 
or feet. The foc-t here are of two kind — the dactyl. whi< 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 



21 



consists of three syllables, the first one accented, the other 
two unaccented (_Lw, w ). The other foot is the spondee; 
it is made up of two syllables, both long, or with equal 

accent ( _L ). Many spondees are really trochaic in 

character. 

"This is the | forest pri | meval. The | murmuring | pines 
and the | hemlocks." 

The scanning here shows that the first five are dactyls and 
the sixth a spondee. 

"Bearded with | moss, and in | garments | green, indis- | 
tinct in the | twilight." 

Here the first, second, fourth and fifth are dactyls; the 
third and sixth, spondees. 

A more extended examination will show that the dactyl 
is the predominating foot; hence the name of the metre, 
" dactylic hexameter." 

Other factors on w T hich the movement of the verse de- 
pends are the pauses (usually called caesuras), the stress 
required by the sense, and the musical qualities of the 
words themselves. In the first line there is a caesural pause 
after the word " primeval.'' • Counting the feet and sylla- 
bles that precede it, this pause would be marked 2f . In the 
second line a pause follows "moss" (li) and "green" 

(H)- . . .. 

It will be noticed further, that in reading the first line 
there is a tendency to let the voice dw T ell with more weight 
on the words " primeval," " pines," and " hemlocks," than 
on any of the others ; so also in the second line, " moss," 
green,"' and " twilight " take the sense stress. Again, the 



U 



22 



SUGGESTIONS FOB S 1T1>Y 



tone qualities of the words give a chan 

that determines their musi d rh In the lii 

•■ T.oud from its rocky eaven n.*' 

there is something in the tone-quality of the \\ m- 

3 Ives that mov< - in cl( 94 bi ny with the tin it, — 
►mething that aids in bringing up mind the 

roll and swell of the an. 

The exercises thai follow are choe with the view of 
making ar the main elem q which th< Vthm de- 

pends. 

Prepare a scheme for lines l L9 in which the Byllabl 
and fee* arc marked according to tl. hem< 1 and 

2 of the preceding discussion. 

Represent by numbers the feel and fractional pai a 
foot that precede the caesura] paw 

Compare lines made up of dactyls with lines made up 
chiefly of Bpondees, and determine the diffi in mov< 

ment 

Which of the Bix tnnot b 

tuted by any other fool 

Find ten lines in which the movement it and 

rapid: find also ten lines in which >'; is decidedly hes 

I >isCU8S and explain. - lible, the can 

difference. 





EYANGELINE. 

PRELUDE. 

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and 

the hemlocks, 
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in 

the twilight, 

Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic, 

Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their 
bosoms. 

Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring 
ocean 5 

Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the 
forest 

This is the forest primeval ; but where are the hearts 

that beneath it 

Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the 

voice of the huntsman ? 

Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian 
farmers, — 

Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the wood- 
lands, 10 
Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of 

heaven ? 
Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers forever 

departed ! 
Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of 

October 

(23) 



24 



THE CRAXE CLASSK 



Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkl< m far 

o'er the ocean. 
JSTaught but tradition remains of the beautiful villi of 

Grand-Pre. 

Ye who believe in affection that ho] d endures, and 

is patient. 
Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of womei 

devotion, 
List to the mournful tradition -till sung by the pin< - 

the forest : 
List to a Tale of b< ve in Acadie, I the happy. 



PART THE FIRST. 

i. 

Ix the Acadian land, on the Bhor the Basin 

Minas, 
Distant, Beeluded, -till, the little tillage o and P 

Lay in tin- fruitful valley. Vasl meadow i the 

ward, 
Giving the village it- name, and pasture t<» flocks without 

number, 
Dikes, that the hands of the farmers had raised with lab 

incessai 
Shut out the turbulent tides; but at 

flood-gati - 
Opened, and welcomed the sea to wander at will be 

meadows. 
West and wrath there won- fid I flax, and op 

cornfields 






EVANGELINE 



25 



Spreading afar and unf enced o'er the plain ; and away to 
the northward 

-Blomidon rose, and the forests old, and aloft on the moun- 
tains 

Sea-fogs pitched their tents, and mists from the mighty 
Atlantic 30 

Looked on the happy valley, but ne'er from their station 

descended. 

There, in the midst of its farms, reposed the Acadian vil- 
lage. 

Strongly built w r ere the houses, with frames of oak and of 

hemlock, 
Such as the peasants of Normandy built in the reign of 

the Henries. 
Thatched were the roofs, with dormer-windows ; and gables 

projecting 35 

Over the basement below protected and shaded the doorway. 
There in the tranquil evenings of summer, when brightly 

the sunset 

Lighted the village street, and gilded the vanes on the chim- 
neys, 

Matrons and maidens sat in snow-white caps and in kirtles 

Scarlet and blue and green, with distaffs spinning the 

golden 40 

Flax for the gossipping looms, whose noisy shuttles within 
doors 

Mingled their sound with the whir of the wheels and the 

songs of the maidens. 
Solemnly down the street came the parish priest, and the 

children 
Paused in their play to kiss the hand he extended to bless 

them. 



THE CRANE CLASSft 9 

Reverend walked lie among them; and up rose mi 

and maidens, 
Hailing his slow appi i with words of 

come. 

Then came the la rs hom om tl I, and 

the -nn -aid; 

Down to hi- rest, and twilight prevailed. Anon from I 
belfry 

Softly the Ajigelus Bounded, and over th< the 

villa 

Columns of pale blue smoke, like clouds of incens< id- 

ing, 50 

11 from a hundred hearths, tin- homes of p< and con- 
tentment 

Thus dwelt together in love tin imple Acadian farm- 
ers,— 

Dwelt in the love of Gk)d and of man. Alike were tin 
free from 

Fear, that reigns with the tyrant, and envy, the \ of 
republics. 

Neither locks had they to their doorg i their 

windows; ° 5 

But their dwellings were open as day and the hearts 
the owners : 

There the richest was poor, and the poorest lived in abun- 
dant 

Somewhat apart from the village, and nearer tl in 

<»f Minas, 
Benedicl Bellefontaine, the wealthiest farmer G 
Pre, 




EVANGELINE 



27 



Dwelt on his goodly acres; and with him, directing his 
household, 60 

Gentle Evangeline lived, his child, and the pride of the 
village. 

Stalworth and stately in form was the man of seventy 
winters ; 

Hearty and hale was he, an oak that is covered with snow- 
flakes ; 

White as the snow were his locks, and his cheeks as brown 
as the oak-leaves. 

Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen summers ; 

Black were her eyes as the berry that grows on the thorn 
by the wayside, 66 

Black, vet how softlv thev gleamed beneath the brow 7 ii 
shade of her tresses ! 

Sweet was her breath as the breath of kine that feed in the 
meadows. 

When in the harvest heat she bore to the reapers at noon- 
tide 

Flagons of home-brewed ale, ah ! fair in sooth was the 
maiden. 70 

Fairer was she when, on Sunday morn, while the bell from 
its turret 

Sprinkled with holy sounds the air, as the priest with his 
hyssop 

Sprinkles the congregation, and scatters blessings upon 
them, 

Down the long street she passed, with her chaplet of beads 
and her missal, 

Wearing her Norman cap and her kirtle of blue, and the 
ear-rings 75 



28 



THE CEAXE CLASSR - 



Brought in the olden time from France, and since, as an 
heirloom, 

Handed down from mother to child, through long genera- 
tions. 

But a celestial brightness — a more ethereal beauty — 

Shone on her face and encircled her form, when, after 
confession. 

Homeward serenely she walked with God's benediction 
upon her. 80 

When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of ex- 
quisite music. 

Firmly builded with rafter- of oak, the heuse of the 
farmer 

Stood on the side of a hill commanding the sea; and a 

shady 
Sycamore grew by the door, with a woodbine wreathing 

around it. 
Rudely carved was the porch, with Beats beneath; and a 

footpath 8r> 

Led through an orchard wide and disappeared in the 

meadow. 
Under the sycamore-tree were hives overhung by a pent- 
house, 
Such as the traveller sees in regions remote by the roadeid< 
Built o'er a box for the poor, or the blessed image of Mary. 
Farther down, on the slope of the hill, was the well with 

its moss-grown 90 

Bucket, fastened with iron, and near it a trough for the 

horses. 
Shielding the house from storms, on the north, were the 

barns and the farm-yard ; 



EVANGELINE 



29 



There stood the broad-wheeled wains and the antique 
ploughs and the harrows ; 

There were the folds for the sheep ; and there, in his 
feathered seraglio, 

Strutted the lordly turkey, and crowed the cock, with the 
selfsame 95 

Voice that in ages of old had startled the penitent Peter. 

Bursting with hay w 7 ere the barns, themselves a village. 
In each one 

Far o'er the gable projected a roof of thatch ; and a stair- 
case, 

Under the sheltering eaves, led up to the odorous corn-loft. 

There too the dove-cot stood, with its meek and innocent 
inmates 10 ° 

Murmuring ever of love; while above in the variant 
breezes 

Numberless noisy weathercocks rattled and sang of muta- 
tion. 

Thus, at peace with God and the world, the farmer of 
Grand-Pre 

Lived on his sunny farm, and Evangeline governed his 
household. 

Many a youth, as he knelt in the church and opened his 
missal, 105 

Fixed his eyes upon her as the saint of his deepest devo- 
tion; 

Happy was he who might touch her hand or the hem of her 
garment ! 

Many a suitor came to her door, by the darkness be- 
friended, 



30 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 






And, as lie knocked and waited to hear the sound of her 
footsteps, 

Knew not which beat the louder, his heart or the knocker 

£ • no 

oi iron ; 

Or, at the joyous feast of the Patron Saint of the village, 

Bolder grew, and pressed her hand in the dance as he 

whispered 

Hurried words of love, that seemed a part of the music. 

But anions all who came young Gabriel only was welcome; 

Gabriel Lajeune-<c\ the son of Basil the blacksmith, 115 

Who was a mighty man in the village, and honored of all 

men ; 

For since the birth of time, thioughout all ages and na- 
tions, 
Has the craft of the smith been held in repute by the 

people. 
Basil was Benedict's friend. Their children from earli< 

childhood 

Grew up together as brother and sister; and Father 
Felician, 1J0 

Priest and pedagogue both in the village, had taught them 
their letters 

Out of the selfsame book, with the hymns of the church 
and the plain-song. 

But when the hymn was sung, and the daily lessons com- 
pleted, 

Swiftly they hurried away to the forge of Basil the black- 
smith. 

There at the door tliev stood, with wondering eyes to ho- 

• » * 

hold him lM 

Take in his leathern lap the hoof of the horse as a play- 
thing, 



EVANGELINE 



31 



Nailing the shoe in its place; while near him the tire of 

the cart-wheel 
Lay like a fiery snake, coiled round in a circle of cinders. 
Oft on autumnal eves, when without in the gathering dark- 
ness 
Bursting with light seemed the smithy, through every 

cranny and crevice, 15 ° 

Warm by the forge within they w T atched the laboring 

bellows, 
And as its panting ceased? and the sparks expired in the 

ashes, 
Merrily laughed, and said they were nuns going into the 

chapel. 
Oft on sledges in winter, as swift as the swoop of the 

eagle, 
Down the hillside bounding, they glided away o'er the 

meadow. 135 

Oft in the barns they climbed to the populous nests on the 

rafters, 
Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone, which the 

swallow 
Brings from the shore of the sea to restore the sight of its 

fledglings ; 
Lucky was he who found that stone in the nest of the 

swallow ! 
Thus passed a few swift years, and they no longer were 

children. 14 ° 

He was a valiant youth, and his face, like the face of the 



morning, 



Gladdened the earth with its light, and ripened thought 
into action. 



32 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



She was a woman now, with the heart and hopes of a 
woman. 

" Sunshine of Saint Eulalie " was she called ; for that was 

the sunshine 
Which, as the farmers believed, would load their orchards 

with apples; 145 

She too would bring to her husband's house delight and 

abundance, 
Filling it full of love and the ruddy faces of children. 

ii. 

Now had the season returned, when the nights grow 
colder and longer, 

And the retreating sun the sign of the Scorpion enters. 

Birds of passage sailed through the leaden air, from the 
ice-bound, 150 

Desolate northern bays to the shores of tropical islands. 

Harvests were gathered in ; and wild with the winds of 
September 

Wrestled the trees of the forest, as Jacob of old with the 
angel. 

All the signs foretold a winter long and inclement. 

Bees, with prophetic instinct of want, had hoarded their 
honey 155 

Till the hives overflowed ; and the Indian hunters asserted 

Cold would the winter be, for thick was the fur of the foxes. 

Such was the advent of autumn. Then followed that beau- 
tiful season, 

Called by the pious Acadian peasants the Summer of All- 
Saints ! 

Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and 
the landscape 160 



EVANGELINE 33 

Lay as if new-created in all the freshness of childhood. 
Peace seemed to reign upon earth, and the restless heart 

of the ocean 
Was for a moment consoled. All sounds were in harmonv 

blended. 
Voices of children at play, the crowing of cocks in the 

farm-yards, 
Whir of wings in the drowsy air, and the cooing of 

pigeons, 165 

All were subdued and low as the murmurs of love, and 

the great sun 
Looked with the eye of love through the golden vapors 

around him; 
While arrayed in its robes of russet and scarlet and yellow, 
Bright with the sheen of the dew, each glittering tree of 

the forest 
Flashed like the plane-tree the Persian adorned with man- 
tles and jewels. 170 

Now recommenced the region of rest and affection and 

stillness. 
Day with its burden and heat' had departed, and twilight 

descending 
Brought back the evening star to the sky, and the herds 

to the homestead. 
Pawing the ground they came, and resting their necks on 

each other, 
And with their nostrils distended inhaling the freshness 

of evening. • 175 

Foremost, bearing the bell, Evangeline's beautiful heifer, 



34 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Proud of her snow-white hide, and the ribbon that waved 

from her collar, 
Quietly paced and slow, as if conscious of human affection. 
Then came the shepherd back- with his bleating flocks from 

the seaside, 
Where was their favorite pasture. Behind them followed 

the watch-dog, 180 

Patient, full of importance, and grand in the pride of his 

instinct, 
Walking from side to side with a lordly air, and superbly 
Waving his bushy tail, and urging forward the stragglers ; 
Regent of flocks was he when the shepherd slept; their 

protector 
When from the forest at night, through the starry silence, 

the wolves howled. 185 

Late, with the rising moon, returned the wains from the 

marshes, 
Laden with briny hay, that filled the air with its odor. 
Cheerily neighed the steeds, with dew on their manes and 

their fetlocks, 
While aloft on their shoulders the wooden and ponderous 

saddles, 
Painted with brilliant dyes, and adorned with tassels of 

crimson, 190 

Nodded in bright array, like hollyhocks heavy with blos- 
soms. 
Patiently stood the cows meanwhile, and vielded their 

udders 
Unto the milkmaid's hand; whilst loud and in regular 

cadence 
Into the sounding pails the foaming streamlets descended. 



EVANGELINE 35 

Lowing of cattle and peals of laughter were heard in the 
farm-yard, 195 

Echoed back bv the barns. Anon they sank into stillness ; 

Heavily closed, with a jarring sound, the valves of the 
barn-doors, 

Rattled the wooden bars, and all for a season was silent. 

In-doors, warm by the wide-mouthed fireplace, idly the 
farmer 

Sat in his elbow-chair, and watched how the flames and 
the smoke-wreaths 200 

Struggled together like foes in a burning city. Behind 
him, 

Nodding and mocking along the wall with gestures fan- 
tastic, 

Darted his own huge shadow, and vanished away into dark- 
ness. 

Faces, clumsily carved in oak, on the back of his arm- 
chair 

Laughed in the flickering light, and the pewter plates on 
the dresser 205 

Caught and reflected the flame, as shields of armies the 

sunshine. 

Fragments of song the old man sang, and carols of Christ- 
mas, 

Such as at home, in the olden time, his fathers before him 

Sang in their Norman orchards and bright Burgundian 
vineyards. 

Close at her father's side was the gentle Evangeline 
seated, 210 

Spinning flax for the loom that stood in the corner be- 
hind her. 



36 THE CKAXE CLASSICS 



. 



Silent awhile were its treadles, at rest was its diligent 

shuttle, 
While the monotonous drone of the wheel, like the drone 

of a bagpipe, 
Followed the old man's song, and united the fragments 

together. 
As in a church, when the chant of the choir at intervals 

ceases, 215 

Footfalls are heard in the aisles, or words of the priest 

at the altar, 
So, in each pause of the song, with measured motion the 

clock clicked. 

Thus as they sat, there were footsteps heard, and, sud- 
denly lifted, 
Sounded the wooden latch, and the door swung back on 

its hinges. 
Benedict knew by the hob-nailed shoes it was Basil the 

blacksmith, 220 

And by her beating heart Evangeline knew who was with 

him. 
" Welcome !" the farmer exclaimed, as their footsteps 

paused on the threshold, 
a Welcome, Basil, my friend! Come, take thy place on 

the settle 
Close by the chimney-side, which is always empty without 

thee ; 
Take from the shelf overhead thy pipe and the box of 

tobacco ; 22r> 

Never so much thyself art thou as when, through the 

curling 



EVANGELINE 



37 



Smoke of the pipe or the forge, thy friendly and jovial 
face gleams 

Round and red as the harvest moon through the mist of 
the marshes." 

Then, with a smile of content, thus answered Basil the 
blacksmith, 

Taking with easy air the accustomed seat by the fire- 
side:- " ' 230 

" Benedict Belief ontaine, thou hast ever thy jest and thy 

ballad ! 

Ever in cheerfullest mood art thou, when others are filled 

with 
Gloomy forebodings of ill, and see only ruin before them. 

Happy art thou, as if every day thou hadst picked up a 

horseshoe." 
Pausing a moment, to take the pipe that Evangeline 

brought him, 235 

And with a coal from the embers had lighted, he slowly 

continued: — 
" Eour days now are passed since the English ships at 

their anchors 
Ride in the Gaspereau's mouth, with their cannon pointed 



against us. 



What their design may be is unknown; but all are com- 
manded 

On the morrow to meet in the church, where his Majesty's 
mandate 240 

Will be proclaimed as law in the land. Alas ! in the mean 

time 
Many surmises of evil alarm the hearts of the people." 

Then made answer the farmer: — " Perhaps some friend- 
lier purpose 



38 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Brings these ships to our shores. Perhaps the harvests in 

England 
By untimely rains or untimelier heat have been blighted, 245 
And from our bursting barns they would feed their cattle 

and children." 
" Not so thinketh the folk in the village/ 5 said warmly the 

blacksmith, 
Shaking his head as in doubt; then, heaving a sigh, he 

continued: — 
" Louisburg is not forgotten, nor Beau Sejour, nor Port 

Royal. 
Many already have fled to the forest, and lurk on its out- 
skirts, 250 
Waiting with anxious hearts the dubious fate of to-morrow. 
Arms have been taken from us, and warlike weapons of all 

kinds ; 
Nothing is left but the blacksmith's sledge and the scythe 

of the mower." 
Then with a pleasant smile made answer the jovial 

farmer: — 
" Safer are we unarmed, in the midst of our flocks and our 

cornfields, 255 

Safer within these peaceful dikes besieged by the ocean, 

Than our fathers in forts, besieged by the enemy's cannon. 

Fear no evil, mv friend, and to-night may no shadow of 
sorrow 

Fall on this house and hearth ; for this is the night of the 
contract. 

Built are the house and the barn. The merry lads of the 
village 26 ° 

Strongly have built them and well; and, breaking the 
glebe round about them, 




EVANGELINE 



39 



Filled the barn with hav, and the house with food for a 
I twelvemonth. 

Rene Leblanc will be here anon, with his papers and ink- 
horn. 

Shall we not then be glad, and rejoice in the joy of our 
children ? " 

As apart by the window she stood, with her hand in her 
lover's, 265 

Blushing Evangeline heard the words that her father had 
spoken, 

And, as they died on his lips, the worthy notary entered. 

in. 

Bent like a laboring oar, that toils in the surf of the 

ocean, 
Bent, but not broken, by age was the form of the notary 

public ; 
Shocks of yellow hair, like the silken floss of the maize, 

hung 270 

Over his shoulders; his forehead was high; and glasses 

with horn bows 
Sat astride on his nose, with a look of wisdom supernal. ' 
Father of twenty children was he, and more than a hun- 

dred 
Children's children rode on his knee, and heard his great 

watch tick. 
Tour long years in the times of the war had he languished 

a captive, 275 

Suffering much in an old French f ott as the friend of the 

English. 
Now, though warrior grown, without all guile or suspicion, 



40 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Ripe in wisdom was he, and patient, and simple, and 

childlike. 
He was beloved by all, and most of all by the children ; 
For he told them tales of the Loup-garou in the forest, 2S0 
And of the goblin that came in the night to water the horses, 
And of the white Letiche, the ghost of a child who un- 

christened 
Died, and was doomed to haunt unseen the chambers of 

children ; 
And how on Christmas eve the oxen talked in the stable, 
And how the fever was cured by a spider shut up in a 
nutshell, 2S5 

And of the marvellous powers of four-leaved clover and 

horseshoes, 
With whatsoever else was writ in the lore of the village. 
Then up rose from his seat by the fireside Basil the black- 
smith, 
Knocked from his pipe the ashes, and slowly extending 

his right hand, 
" Father Leblanc," he exclaimed, " thou hast heard the 

talk of the village, 29 ° 

And, perchance, canst tell us some news of these ships 

and their errand." 

Then with modest demeanor made answer the notary pub- 
lic, — 

" Gossip enough have I heard, in sooth, yet am never the 
wiser ; 

And what their errand may be I know no better than 
others. 

Yet am I not of those who imagine some evil intention 295 

Brings them here, for we are at peace; and why then 
molest us ? " 



EVANGELINE 



41 



" God's name ! " shouted the hasty and somewhat irascible 
blacksmith ; 

" Must we in all things look f of the how, and the why, and 
the wherefore ? 

Daily injustice is done, and might is the right of the 
strongest! " 

But, without heeding his warmth, continued the notary 
public, — 300 

" Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice 

Triumphs; and well I remember a story, that often con- 
soled me, 

When as a captive I lay in the old French fort at Port 
Koyal." 

This was the old man's favorite tale, and he loved to re- 
peat it 

When his neighbors complained that any injustice was done 

them. 305 

" Once in an ancient city, whose name I no longer re- 
member, 

Raised aloft on a column, a brazen statue of Justice 

Stood in the public square, upholding the scales in its left 
hand, 

And in its right a sword, as an emblem that justice pre- 
sided 

Over the laws of the land, and the hearts and homes of 
the people, 310 

Even the birds had built their nests in the scales of the 
balance, 

Having no fear of the sword that flashed in the sunshine 
above them. 

But in the course of time the laws of the land were cor- 
rupted ; 



42 



THE CRAXE CLASSICS 



Might took the place of right, and the weak were oppressed, 

and the mighty 
Ruled with an iron rod. Then it chanced in a nobleman's 

palace 315 

That a necklace of pearls was lost, and ere long a suspicion 
Fell on an orphan girl who lived as maid in the household. 
She, after form of trial condemned to die on the scaffold, 
Patiently met her doom at the foot of the statue of Justice. 
As to her Father in heaven her innocent spirit ascended, 320 
Lo! o'er the city a tempest rose; and the bolts of the 

thunder 
Smote the statue of bronze, and hurled in wrath from its 

left hand 
Down on the pavement below the clattering scales of the 

balance, 
And in the hollow thereof was found the nest of a magpie, 
Into whose clay-built walls the necklace of pearls was in- 

woven. **° 

Silenced, but not convinced, when the story was ended, the 

blacksmith 
Stood like a man who fain would speak, but fmdeth no 

language ; 
All his thoughts were congealed into lines on his face, as 

the vapors 
Freeze in fantastic shapes on the window-panes in the 

winter. 

Then Evangeline lighted the brazen lamp on the 
table, 330 

Filled, till it overflowed, the pewter tankard with home- . 
brewed 



EVANGELINE 43 

Nut-brown ale, that was famed for its strength in the 
village of G rand-Pre ; 

While from his pocket the notary drew his papers and 
inkhorn, 

Wrote with a steady hand the date and the age of the par- 
ties, 

u 

Naming the dower of the bride in flocks of sheep and in 
cattle. 335 

Orderly all things proceeded, and duly and well were com- 
pleted, 

And the great seal of the law was set like a sun on the 



T 



margin. 



hen from his leathern pouch the farmer threw on the table 
Three times the old man's fee in solid pieces of silver; 
And the notary rising, and blessing the bride and bride- 
groom, 340 
Lifted aloft the tankard of ale and drank to their welfare. 
Wiping the foam from his lip, he solemnly bowed and 

departed, 
While in silence the others sat and mused by the fireside. 
Till Evangeline brought the draught-board out of its 

corner. 
Soon was the game begun. In friendly contention the old 

men 345 

Laughed at each lucky hit, or unsuccessful manoeuvre, 
Laughed when a man was crowned, or a breach was made 

in the king-row. 
Meanwhile apart, in the twilight gloom of a window's 

embrasure, 
Sat the lovers and whispered together, beholding the moon 

rise 



44 

THE CHASTE CLASSICS 

Over the pallid sea and the silver, mist of the meadows. ><* 
S lentlj one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven 
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels 

' ^""belf n Ae eVeninff P8SSed ' An ° n the bel1 from the 

Rang out the hour of nine, the village curfew, and straight- 

way & 

Many ^farewell word and sweet good-night o„ the door- 
Lingered long in Evangeline's heart, and filled it with 
gladness. 

Carefully then were covered the embers that glowed on the 

neartn-stone, 
Ami m the onken ,Wr> ,,...„„„],,i t]l0 t „ a( , 

til S °"" "" ■ '*""* '"' 1 «W* ** 

Fp the staircase moved a luminous space in the drnfaell 
lotted h. b, the l. mp tt, m tlle ,,,„;„„ f> ™™J 

maiden. 

Silent she passed throngh the hall, and entered the door I 
01 her chamber. 

Simple that chamber was, with its curtains of white, and 

its clothes-press 
Ample and Wgh, on whose spacious shelves were carefully 

T . 365 

L.een a,„l „. 00 ,i m stllffS| by thc hmi of E 

Th,s ,vas t e pre ei. M ,,„„.„ ^ „„„,, ^ ^ £. 

oancl m marriage, 



' 



EVANGELINE 45 

tter than flocks and herds, being proofs of her skill as a 
housewife. 

Soon she extinguished her lamp, for the mellow and 
radiant moonlight 

Streamed through the windows, and lighted the room, till 
the heart of the maiden 370 

welled and obeyed its power, like the tremulous tides of 
the ocean. 

Ah ! she was fair, exceeding fair to behold, as she stood 
with 

Naked snow-white feet on the gleaming floor of her cham- 
ber ! 

Little she dreamed that below, among the trees of the or- 
chard, 

Waited her lover and w r atched for the gleam of her lamp 
and her shadow. 375 

Yet were her thoughts of him, and at times a feeling of 
sadness 

Passed o'er her soul, as the sailing shade of clouds in the 
moonlight 

Flitted across the floor and darkened the room for a mo- 
ment. 

And, as she gazed from the window, she saw serenely the 
moon pass 

Forth from the folds of a cloud, and one star follow her 
footsteps, 380 

As out of Abraham's tent young Ishmael wandered with 
Hagar. 



46 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



IV. 

Pleasantly rose next morn the sun on the village of 

Grand-Pre. 
Pleasantly gleamed in the soft, sweet air the Basin of 

Minas, 
Where the ships, with their wavering shadows, were riding 

at anchor. 
Life had long been astir in the village, and clamorous 

labor 385 

Knocked with its hundred hands at the golden gates of the 

morning. 
Now from the country around, from the farms and neigh- 
boring hamlets, 
Came in their holiday dresses the blithe Acadian peasants. 
Many a glad good-morrow and jocund laugh from the 

young folk 
Made the bright air brighter, as up from the numerous 

meadows, 390 

Where no path could be seen but the track of wheels in 

the greensward, 
Group after group appeared, and joined, or passed on the 

highway. 
Long ere noon, in the village all sounds of labor were 

silenced. 
Thronged were the streets with people; and noisy groups 

at the house-doors 
Sat in the cheerful sun, and rejoiced and gossiped to- 
gether. 395 
Every house was an inn, where all were welcomed and 

feasted ; 



EVANGELINE 



47 



For with this simple people, who lived like brothers to- 
gether, 

All things were held in common, and what one had was 
another's. 

Yet under Benedict's roof hospitality seemed more abun- 
dant : 

For Evangeline stood among the guests of her father ; 

Bright was her face with smiles, and words of welcome and 

* gladness 

Fell from her beautiful lips, and blessed the cup as she 
gave it. 

Under the open sky, in the odorous air of the orchard, 
Stript of its golden fruit, was spread the feast of betrothal. 
There in the shade of the porch were the priest and the 

notary seated; 405 

There good Benedict sat, and sturdy Basil the blacksmith. 
"Not far withdrawn from these, by the cider-press and the 

beehives, 
Michael the fiddler was placed, with the gayest of hearts 

and of waistcoats. 
Shadow and light from the leaves alternately played on 

his snow-white 
Hair, as it waved in the wind ; and the jolly face of the 

fiddler ' ". 410 

Glowed like a living coal when the ashes are blown from 

the embers. 
Gayly the old man sang to the vibrant sound of his fiddle, 
Tons les Bourgeois de Chartres, and Le Carillon de Dun- 

Jeerque, 
And anon with his wooden shoes beat time to the music. 



48 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Merrily, merrily whirled the wheels of the dizzying dances 

Under the orchard-trees and down the path to the meadows ; 

Old folks and young together, and children mingled among 

them. 41T 

Fairest of all the maids was Evangeline, Benedict's daugh- 
ter ! 

Noblest of all the youths was Gabriel, son of the black- 
smith ! 

So passed the morning away. And lo ! with a summons 

sonorous 420 

Sounded the bell from its tower, and over the meadows a 

drum beat. 
Thronged ere long was the church with men. Without, 

in the churchyard, 
Waited the women. They stood by the graves, and hung 

on the headstones 
Garlands of autumn-leaves and evergreens fresh from the 

forest. 
Then came the guard from the ships, and marching proudly 

among them 425 

Entered the sacred portal. With loud and dissonant 

clangor 
Echoed the sound of their brazen drums from ceiling and 

casement, — 
Echoed a moment only, and slowly the ponderous portal 
Closed, and in silence the crowd awaited the will of the 

soldiers. 
Then uprose their commander, and spake from the steps 

of the altar, 430 

Holding aloft in his hands, with its seals, the royal com- 

« * 7 7 • 

mission. 



EVANGELINE 



49 



You are convened this day/' he said, " by his Majesty's 

orders. 

Clement and kind has he been; but how you have an- 
swered his kindness 
Let your own hearts reply ! To my natural make and my 

temper 
Painful the task is I do, which to you I know must be 

grievous. 43r> 

Yet must I bow and obey, and deliver the will of our 

monarch : 
Namely, that all your lands, and dwellings, and cattle of 

all kinds 
Forfeited be to the crown ;* and that you yourselves from 

this province 
Be transported to other lands. God grant you may dwell 

there 
Ever as faithful subjects, a happy and peaceable people ! 440 
Prisoners now I declare you, for such is his Majesty's 

pleasure ! " 
As, when the air is serene in the sultry solstice of sum- 
mer, 
Suddenly gathers a storm, and the deadly sling of the 

hailstones 
Beats down the farmer's corn in the field, and shatters his 

windows, 
Hiding the sun, and strewing the ground with thatch from 

the house-roofs, 445 

Bellowing fly the herds, and seek to break their enclosures ; 
So on the hearts of the people descended the words of the 

speaker. 
—4 



50 



THE CRAKE CLASSICS 



Silent a moment they stood in speechless wonder, and then 
rose 

Louder and ever louder a wail of sorrow and anger, 

And, by one impulse moved, they madly rushed to the 
door-way. 450 

Vain was the hope of escape; and cries and fierce impre- 
cations 

Rang through the house of prayer ; and high o'er the heads 
of the others 

Rose, with his arms uplifted, the figure of Basil the black- 
smith, 

As, on a stormy sea, a spar is tossed by the billows. 

Flushed was his face and distorted with passion; and 
wildly he shouted, — 455 

" Down with the tyrants of England I we never have sworn 
them allegiance ! 

Death to these foreign soldiers, who seize on our homes 
and our harvests ! " 

More he fain would have said, but the merciless hand of a 
soldier 

Smote him upon the mouth, and dragged him down to the 
pavement. 

In the midst of the strife and tumult of angry conten- 
tion, ' 460 

Lo! the door of the chancel opened, and Father Felician 

Entered, with serious mien, and ascended the steps of the 
altar. 

Raising his reverend hand, with a gesture he awed into 
silence 

All that clamorous throng ; and thus he spake to his people ; 






EVANGELINE 51 



Deep were his tones and solemn ; in accents measured and 

mournful 465 

Spake he, as, after the tocsin's alarum, distinctly the clock 

strikes. 
" What is this that ye do, my children ? what madness has 

seized you ? 
Forty years of my life have I labored among you, and 

taught you, 

Not in word alone, but in deed, to love one another ! 

Is this the fruit of my toils, of my vigils and prayers and 

privations ? 470 

Have you so soon forgotten all lessons of love and forgive^ 

ness ? 
This is the house of the Prince of Peace, and would you 

profane it 

Thus with violent deeds and hearts overflowing with 

hatred ? 
Lo! where the crucified Christ from His cross is gazing 
upon you ! 

See ! in those sorrowful eyes what meekness and holy com- 
passion ! '- 475 

Hark-! how those lips still repeat the prayer, '0 Father, 
forgive them ! ' 

Let us repeat that prayer in the hour when the wicked 

assail us, 
Let us repeat it now, and say, c O Father, forgive them ! } " 

Few were his words of rebuke, but deep in the hearts of 
his people 

Sank they, and sobs of contrition succeeded the passionate 
outbreak, 480 

While they repeated his prayer, and said, " O Father, for- 
give them ! " 



52 



THE CKAJS T E CLASSICS 



Then came the evening" service. The tapers gleamed 
from the altar ; 
Fervent and deep was the voice of the priest, and the peo- 
ple responded, 
Not with their lips alone, but their hearts ; and the Ave 

Maria 
Sang they, and fell on their knees, and -their souls, with 
devotion translated, 485 

Rose on the ardor of prayer, like Elijah ascending to 
heaven. 

Meanwhile had spread in the village the tidings of ill, 

and on all sides 
Wandered, wailing, from house to house the women and 

children. 

Long at her father's door Evangeline stood, with her right 

hand 
Shielding her eyes from the level rays of the sun, that, 

descending, 490 

Lighted the village street with mysterious splendor, and 

roofed each 
Peasant's cottage with golden thatch, and emblazoned its 

windows. 
Long within had been spread the snow-white cloth on the 

table ; 
There stood the wheaten loaf, and the honey fragrant with 

wild flowers ; 
There stood the tankard of ale, and the cheese fresh brought- 

from the dairy ; 405 

And at the head of the board the great arm-chair of the 
farmer. 

Thus did Evangeline wait at her father's door, as the sunsel 



EVANGELINE 53 

Threw the long shadows of trees o'er the broad ambrosial 
meadows. 

Ah !• on her spirit within a deeper shadow had fallen, 

And from the fields of her soul a fragrance celestial as- 
cended, — 500 

Charity, meekness, love, and hope, and forgiveness, and 
patience! 

Then, all forgetful of self, she wandered into the village, 

Cheering with looks and words the mournful hearts of the 
women, 

As o'er the darkening fields with lingering steps they de- 
parted, 

Urged by their household cares, and the weary feet of their 

children. 505 

Down sank the great red sun, and in golden, glimmering; 
vapors 

Veiled the light of his face, likoi the Prophet descending 

from Sinai. 

Sweetly over the village the bell of the Angelus sounded. 

Meanwhile, amid the gloom, by the church Evangeline 

lingered. . 

All was silent within ; and in vain at the door and the 

windows 510 

Stood she, and listened and looked, until, overcome by 

emotion, 

6 Gabriel ! ' cried she aloud with tremulous voice ; but no 
answer 

Came from the graves of the dead, nor the gloomier grave 

of the living. 
Slowly at length she returned to the tenantless house of 

her father. 



54 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Smouldered the fire on the hearth, on the board was the 
supper untasted. • 515 

Empty and drear was each room, and haunted with phan- 
toms of terror. 

Sadly echoed her step on the stair and the floor of her 
chamber. 

In the dead of the night she heard the disconsolate rain 

fall 
Loud on the withered leaves of the sycamore-tree by the 

window. 
Keenly the lightning flashed ; and the voice of the echoing 

thunder ' 520 

Told her that God was in heaven, and governed the world 

He created ! 
Then she remembered the tale she had heard of the justice 

of Heaven ; 
Soothed was her troubled soul, and she peacefully slum- 
bered till morning. 

• 
v. 

Four times the sun had risen and set ; and now on the 
fifth day 

Cheerily called the cock to'the sleeping maids of the farm- 
house. 525 

Soon o'er the yellow fields, in silent and mournful pro- 
cession, 

Came from the neighboring hamlets and farms the Acadian 
women, 

Driving in ponderous wains their household goods to the 
sea-shore, 

Pausing and looking back to gaze once more on their dwell- 
ings, 



EVAITOELHSTE 55 

Ere they were shut from sight by the winding road and the 

woodland. 530 

Close at their sides, their children ran, and urged on the 
oxen. 

While in their little hands they clasped some fragments 

of playthings. 

Thus to the Gaspereau's mouth they hurried ; and there 
on the sea-beach 

Piled in confusion lay the household goods of the peasants. 

All day long between the shore and the ships did the boats 
ply ; 535 

All day long the wains came laboring down ^from the vil- 
lage. 

Late in the afternoon, when the sun was near to his setting, 

Echoed far o'er the fields came the roll of drums from the 
churchyard. 

Thither the women and children thronged. On a sudden 
the church-doors 

Opened, and forth came the guard, and marching in gloomy 

procession ° 

Followed the long-imprisoned, but patient, Acadian farm- 
ers. 

Even as pilgrims, who journey afar from their homes and 

their countrv, 

»/ 7 

Sing as they go, and in singing forget they are weary and 

wayworn, 
So with songs on their lips the Acadian peasants descended 
Down from the church to the shore, amid their wives and 

their daughters. 545 

Foremost the young men came ; and, raising together their 

voices, 









56 



THE CRA]vrE CLASSICS 



Sang with tremulous lips a chant of the Catholic Mis- 
sions: — 

" Sacred heart of the Saviour ! O inexhaustible fountain ! 

Fill our hearts this day with strength and submission and 
patience ! " 

Then the old men, as they marched, and the women that 
stood by the wayside 550 

Joined in the sacred psalm, and the birds in the sunshine 
above them 

Mingled their notes therewith, like voices of spirits de- 
parted. 

Half-way down to the shore Evangeline waited in silence, 

Xot overcome with grief, but strong in the hour of afflic- 
tion, — 

Calmly and sadly she waited, until the procession ap- 
proached her, 555 

And she beheld the face of Gabriel pale with emotion. 

Tears then filled her eyes, and, eagerly running to meet 
him, 

Clasped she his hands, and laid her head on his shoulder, 
and whispered, — 

" Gabriel ! be of good cheer ! for if we love one another 

Nothing, in truth, can harm us, whatever mischances may 
happen ! " 560 

Smiling she spake these words ; then suddenly paused, for 
her father 

Saw she, slowly advancing. Alas ! how changed was his 
aspect ! 

Gone w r as the glow from his cheek, and the fire from his 
eye, and his footstep 



EVANGELINE 57 

Heavier seemed with the weight of the heavy heart in his 
bosom. 

But with a smile and a sigh, she clasped his neck and em- 
braced him, 565 

Speaking words of endearment, where words of comfort 
availed not. 

Thus to the Gaspereau's mouth moved on that mournful 
procession. 

There disorder prevailed, and the tumult and stir of em- 
barking. 

Busily plied the freighted boats ; and in the confusion 

Wives were torn from their husbands, and mothers, too 
late, saw their children 5T0 

Left on the land, extending their arms, with wildest en- 
treaties. 

So unto separate ships were Basil and Gabriel carried, 

While in despair on the sh6re Evangeline stood with her 
father. 

Half the task was not done when the sun went down, and 
the twilight 

Deepened and darkened around ; and in haste the refluent 
ocean 575 

Fled away from the shore, and left the line of the sand- 
beach 

Covered with waifs of the tide, with kelp and the slippery 

sea-weed. 

Farther back in the midst of the household goods and the 
wagons, 

Like to a gypsy camp, or a leaguer after a battle, 

All escape, cut off by the sea, and the sentinels near 

them. 580 



58 



THE CEANE CLASSICS 



Lay encamped for the night the houseless Acadian farmers. 
Back to its nethermost caves retreated the bellowing ocean, 
Dragging adown the beach the rattling pebbles, and leaving 
Inland and far up the shore the stranded boats of the 

sailors. 
Then, as the night descended, the herds returned from their 

pastures ; 585 

Sweet was the moist still air with the odor of milk from 

their udders ; 
Lowing they waited, and long, at the well-known bars of 

the farm-yard, — 
Waited and looked in vain for the voice and the hand of 

the milkmaid. 
Silence reigned - in the streets; from the church no An- 

gelus sounded, 
Rose no smoke from the roofs, and gleamed no lights from 

the windows. 590 

But on the shores meanwhile the evening fires had been 

kindled, 
Built of the drift-wood thrown on the sands from wrecks 

in the tempest. 
Round them shapes of gloom and sorrowful faces were 

gathered, 
Voices of women were heard, and of men, and the crying 

of children. 
Onward from fire to fire, as from hearth to hearth in his. 

parish, 595 

Wandered the faithful priest, consoling and blessing and 

cheering, 
Like unto shipwrecked Paul on Melita's desolate sea-shore. 



EVANGELINE 59 

Thus he approached the place where Evangeline sat with 
her father, 

And in the flickering light beheld the face of the old man, 

Haggard and hollow and wan, and without either thought 
or emotion, 600 

E'en as the face of a clock from which the hands have been 
taken. 

Vainly Evangeline strove with words and caresses to cheer 
him, 

Vainly offered him food ; yet he moved not, he looked not, 
he spake not, 

But, with a vacant stare, ever gazed at the flickering fire- 
light. 

" Benedicite! " murmured the priest, in tones of compas- 
sion. 605 

More he fain would have said, but his heart was full, and 
his accents 

Faltered and paused on his lips, as the feet of a child on 
a threshold, 

Hushed by the scene he beholds, and the awful presence 
of sorrow. 

Silently, therefore, he laid his hand on the head of the 
maiden, 

Raising his tearful eyes to the silent stars that above 
them ' 610 

Moved on their way, unperturbed by the wrongs and sor- 
rows of mortals. 

Then sat he down at her side, and they wept together in 
silence. 



60 



THE CRAXE CLASSICS 



Suddenly rose from the south a light, as in autumn the 

blood-red 
Moon climbs the crystal walls of heaven, and o'er the 

horizon 
Titan-like stretches its hundred hands upon mountain and 

meadow, 615 

Seizing the rocks and the rivers, and piling huge shadows 

together. 
Broader and ever broader it gleamed on the roofs of the 

village, 

v I 7 

Gleamed on the sky and the sea, and the ships that lay in 
the roadstead. 

Columns of shining smoke uprose, and flashes of flame 
were 

Thrust through their folds and withdrawn, like the quiver- 
ing hands of a martyr. G20 

Then as the wind seized the gleeds and the burning thatch, 
and, uplifting, 

Whirled them aloft through the air, at once from a hun- 
dred house-tops 

Started the sheeted smoke with flashes of flame inter- 
mingled. 

These things beheld in dismay the crowd on the shore 
and on shipboard. 

Speechless at first they stood, then cried aloud in their 
anguish, r,2r>< 

"We shall behold no more our homes in the village of 
Grand-Pre ! " 

Loud on a sudden the cocks began to crow in the farm- 
yards, 




EVANGELINE 61 



Thinking the day had dawned; and anon the lowing of 
cattle 

Came on the evening breeze, by the barking of dogs inter- 
rupted. 

Then rose a sound of dread, such as startles the sleeping 
encampments (53 ° 

Far in the western prairies of forests that skirt the Ne- 
braska, 

When the wild horses affrighted sweep by with the speed 
of the whirlwind, 

Or the loud bellowing herds of buffaloes rush to the river. 

Such was the sound that arose on the night, as the herds 
and the horses 

Broke through their folds and fences, and madly rushed 
o'er the meadows. 635 

Overwhelmed with the sight, yet speechless, the priest 
and the maiden 

Grazed on the scene of terror that reddened and widened 
before them ; 

And as they turned at length to speak to their silent com- 
panion, 

Lo ! from his seat he had fallen, and stretched abroad on 
the seashore 

Motionless lay his form, from which the soul had de- 
parted. - 640 

Slowly the priest uplifted the lifeless head, and the maiden 

Knelt at her father's side, and wailed aloud in her terror. 

Then in a swoon she sank, and lay with her head on his 
bosom. 

Through the long night she lay in deep, oblivious slumber ; 



- 



Till ( RANE ■ 



And win woke from the ti <1 a multi- 

tu r. 

Id, that -mi fully gazing 

upon her, 
Pallid, with tearful and looks i Ideal n. 

ill tl timing vill. 2 illumined the land- 

K Idened the -k I, and p 

And likr th( 1 it 

650 

as it -;ii<l to the people, — 
:rv him 1 Wl 

Bi :n the onto 

ill hi ; dnal lid in I thurch- 

<-h And there in I 

1 

I l;i\ inij the (rlai burning vil 'hcs, 

,]. 

P 

ie |»rir»t ; 'I tli 

with 1 mournful i lik- q- 

Solemnly answered tl d mi • «l it be 

flii 
"I was tl from the \vi the 

n. 

With t iiiL r and 1 

land 1. 






EVANGELINE 63 

'hen recommenced once more the stir and noise of em- 
barking ; 

And with the ebb of the tide the ships sailed out of the 
harbor, 

Leaving behind them the dead on the shore, and the village 
in ruins. 665 

PAET THE SECOND. 

i. 

Many a weary year had passed since the burning of 

Grand-Pre, 
When on the falling tide the freighted vessels departed, 
Bearing a nation, with all its household gods, into exile, 
Exile without an end, and without an example in story. 
Far asunder, on separate coasts, the Acadians landed; 670 
Scattered were they, like flakes of snow, when the wind 

from the northeast 
Strikes aslant through the fogs that darken the Banks of 

Newfoundland. 
Friendless, homeless, hopeless, they wandered from city to 

city, 
From the cold lakes of the North to sultry Southern 

savannas, — 

From the bleak shores of the sea to the lands where the 

Father of Waters 675 

Seizes the hills in his hands, and drags them down to the 
ocean, 

Deep in their sands to bury the scattered bones of the 

mammoth. 
Friends they sought and homes; and many, despairing, 

heart-broken. 






TI :ax I CI lSSI - 

As rth I p| ;-, and no 1 ger a friend 

n - 

Written their h> stands tablets fa in the 

churehvar / 
L g j _ thei: s & a a maiden wh« d and wan- 

Lowly and meek in spirit, and patiently sufferi 2 

thin^ - 
Fair ¥ g -he and 3 g but, alas! before her extern 
Preary ai - ;*nt, tl leserl : life, with i - 

I rthway 
Marked bv the 2 - - who ha- 3 and raf- 

:^e her. 
Passions 2 g rished, and hopes I of; I and aban- 

d 
Asthi _ - "er tl> :■ W si - isi rked 1 

amp-fires long osv and b - that bleach in the 

- • 
p there in her life incomplete, imperfect, un- 

finishe 
As _ with all its mu- Aid sun- 

m 
nly paused in the 5, slowly descended 

Into the si again, from whence it late had arisen. 

le lingered in towns, till, urged bv the fever 
within her, 
U B ss longing, he hunger and thirst of the 

mence again her endless search an d 






2TZ 

: :_~: : ' ' - ^z . :-: 






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. - : ' ■ . _. - 



*-. 2 -hearsay, an us _: :f — 

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:z — ~_ z: : — : _t: >z ~ri 



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Mizt jt tedk*iz wr; umii . „ 

Then *rr too tV'r :: V "_--— r: : :■•::."" 5: -^tfcBD'f"? r. 



66 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



Then would Evangeline answer, serenely but sadly, " I 

cannot ! 
Whither my heart has gone, there follows my hand, and 

not elsewhere. 715 

For when the heart goes before, like a lamp, and illumines 

the pathway, 
Many things are made clear, that else lie hidden in dark- 



ness. v 



Thereupon the priest, her friend and father confessor, 
Said, with a smile, "O daughter! thy God thus speaketh 

within thee ! 
Talk not of wasted aifection, affection never was 

wasted ; 720 

If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning 
Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill them full of 

refreshment ; 
That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the 

fountain. 
Patience; accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy work of 

affection ! 
Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is 

godlike. T - r> 

Therefore accomplish thy labor of love, till the heart is 

made godlike, 
Purified, strengthened, perfected, and rendered more 

worthy of heaven ! " 
Cheered by the good man's words, Evangeline labored and 

waited. 
Still in her heart she heard the funeral dirge of the ocean, 
But with its sound there was mingled a voice that whis- 
pered, " Despair not ! " 7 ™ 



EVANGELINE 67 

Thus did that poor soul wander in want and cheerless 

discomfort, 

Bleeding, barefooted, over the shards and thorns of exist- 
ence. 

Let me essay, O Muse! to follow the wanderer's foot- 
steps ; — 

Not through each devious path, each changeful year of 
existence ; 

But as a traveller follows a streamlet's course through the 

valley : * 735 

Far from its margin at times, and seeing the gleam of its 
water 

Here and there, in some open space, and at intervals only ; 

Then drawing nearer its banks, through sylvan glooms that 

conceal it, 

Though he behold it not, he can hear its continuous mur- 
mur ; 

Happy, at length, if he find a spot where it reaches an 

outlet, 740 

ii. 

It was the month of May. Far down the Beautiful 

River, 

Past the Ohio shore and past the mouth of the Wabash, 

Into the golden stream of the broad and swift Mississippi, 

Floated a cumbrous boat, that was rowed by Acadian boat- 
men. 

It was a band of exiles : a raft, as it were, from the ship- 
wrecked 745 

Nation, scattered along the coast, now floating together. 

Bound by the bonds of a common belief and a common mis- 
fortune ; 



68 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 






Men and women and children, who, guided by hope or by 

hearsay. 
Sought for their kith and their kin among the few-acred 

farmers 
On the Acadian coast, and the prairies of fair Ope- 

lousas. 750 

With them Evangeline went, and her guide, the Father 

Felician. 
Onward o'er sunken sands, through a wilderness sombre 

with for< sts, 
Day after day they glided adown the turbulent river: 
Night after night, by their blazing fires, encamped on its 

border-. 
Now through rushing clinic-, among green islands, where 

plumelike T:,r ' 

Cotton-trees nodded their Bhadowy crests, they Bwept with 

the current, 
Then emerged into broad lagoons, where silvery Band-bars 
Lay in the Btream, and along the wimpling waves of their 

margin. 

Shining with Bnow-white plumes, large flocks of pelicans 

waded. 
Level the landscape grew, and along the shores of the 

• t An 

river, 

Shaded bv china-trees, in the midst of luxuriant gardens, 

Stood the houses of planters, with negro cabins and dove- 
cots. 

They were approaching the region where reigns perpetual 
summer, 

Where through the Golden Coast, and groves of orange and 
citron, 



1 



EVANGELINE 69 

Sweeps with majestic curve the river away to the east- 
ward. 765 

They, too, swerved from their course; and, entering the 
Bayou of Plaquemine, 

Soon were lost in a maze of sluggish and devious waters, 

Which, like a network of steel, extended in every direction. 

Over their heads the towering and tenebrous boughs of the 
cypress 

Met in a dusky arch, and trailing mosses in midair 770 

Waved like banners that hang on the walls of ancient cathe- 
drals. 

Deathlike the silence seemed, and unbroken, save by the 
herons 

Home to their roosts in the cedar-trees returning at sunset, 

Or by the owl, as he greeted the moon with demoniac 
laughter. 

Lovely the moonlight was as it glanced and gleamed on 
the water, 775 

Grleamed on the columns of cypress and cedar sustaining 
the arches, 

Down through whose broken yaults it fell as through chinks 
in a ruin. 

Dreamlike, and indistinct, and strange were all things 
around them ; 

And o'er their spirits there came a feeling of wonder and 
sadness, — 

Strange forebodings of ill, unseen and that cannot be com- 
passed. 780 

As, at the tramp of a horse's hoof on the turf of the prairies, 

Far in advance are closed the leaves of the shrinking 
mimosa, 



70 



THE CRANE CLASSK - 



So. at the hoof-beats of fate, with Bad forebodings of evil, 
Shrinks and el the heart, ere the Btroke of doom has 

attained it. 
But Evangeline's heart was sustained by a vision, that 

faintly T 

Floated before her eg ind beckoned h< d through the 
moonlight 

It was the thought of her brain thai assumed the Bhap 
a phantom. 

Through those shadowy aisles had Gabriel wandered he- 
fore h 

A;, 'I everj >ar now brought him nearer a- 

nearer. 

Then in hi- |»' pTOW of the h<>at, r of 

tL ii. 

And, ;i- a HLinal >und, if others like them peradventui 
Lied "ii th( loomy and midnight streams, blew a hlast 
on hi- le. 

Wild through tin- dark e«»]nnnades >rridors leafy the 

blast ran 
Breaking th< 1 of silence and giving lies to the 

rest 

tundless above them tin- banners of moss just stirred to 

the music. 

Multitudinous echoes awoke and died in the distano 

Over the watery tl«»<»r, and beneath tl rant 

branches ; 
But not a voice replied; no answer came from the dark- 

And when tl had ed, lib In v\ . 

the silen< 






EVANGELINE 71 

Then Evangeline slept; but the boatmen rowed through 
the midnight, 80(? 

Silent at times, then singing familiar Canadian boat-songs, 
Such as they sang of old on their own Acadian rivers, 
While through the night were heard the mysterious sounds 

of the desert, 
Far off, — indistinct, — as of wave or wind in the forest, 
Mixed with the whoop of the crane and the roar of the 
grim alligator. 805 

Thus ere another noon they emerged from the shades; 
and before them 

Lay, in the golden sun, the lakes of the Atchafalaya. 

Water-lilies in myriads rocked on the slight undulations 

Made by the passing oars, and, resplendent in beauty, the 
lotus 

Lifted her golden crown above the heads of the boat- 
men. 810 

Faint was the air with the odorous breath of magnolia 
blossoms, 

And with the heat of noon ; and numberless sylvan islands, 

Fragrant and thickly embowered with blossoming hedges 
of roses, 

Near to whose shores they glided along, invited to slumber. 

Soon by the fairest of these their weary oars were sus- 
pended. 815 

Under the boughs of Wachita willows, that grew by the 
margin, 

Safely their boat was moored ; and scattered about on the 
greensward, 

Tired with their midnight toil, the weary travellers slum- 
bered. 



72 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



Over them vast and high- extended the cope of a cedar. 

Swinging from it? great arms, the trumpet-flower and the 

grapevine ' 820 

Hung their ladder of ropes aloft like the ladder of Jacob, 

On whose pendulous stairs the angels ascending, descend- 
ing, 

Were the swift humming-birds, that flitted from blossom 
to blossom. 

Such was the vision Evangeline saw as she slumbered be- 
neath it. 

Filled was her heart with love, and the dawn of an open- 
ing heaven 82B 

Lighted her soul in sleep with the glory of regions celestial. 

Nearer, ever n< arer, among the numberless islands 

Darted a light, swift boat, that sped away o'er the water, 

Urged on its course 1 v the -inewy arms of hunters and 
trapper-. 

Northward its prow was turned, to the land of the bison 
and beaver. 830 

At the helm sat a youth, with countenance thoughtful and 
careworn. 

Dark and neglected locks overshadowed his brow, and a 

Eidness 

Somewhat beyond his years on his face was legibly written, 

Gabriel was it, who, weary with waiting, unhappy and 

restles-. 

Sought in the Western wilds oblivion of self and of sor- 

r< »w. 835 

Swiftly they glided along, close under the lee of the island, 
But bv the opposite bank, and behind a screen of pal- 
mettos ; 



EVANGELINE 73 

So that they saw not the boat, where it lay concealed in 

the willows ; 
All "undisturbed by the dash of their oars, and unseen, were 

the sleepers; 
Angel of God was there none to awaken the slumbering 

maiden. 840 

Swiftly they glided away, like the shade of a cloud on the 

prairie. 
After the sound of their oars on the tholes had died in the 

distance, 
As from a magic trance the sleepers awoke, and the 

maiden 
Said with a sigh to the friendly priest, " O Father Fe- 

lician ! 
Something says in my heart that near me Gabriel wan- 
ders. 845 
Is it a foolish dream, an idle and vague superstition? 
Or has an angel passed, and revealed the truth to my 

spirit ? " 
Then with a blush, she added, "Alas for my credulous 

fancy ! 
Unto ears like thine such words as these have no meaning." 
But made answer the reverend man, and he smiled as he 

answered, — 850 

"Daughter, thy words are not idle; nor are they to me 

without meaning, 
Feeling is deep and still; and the word that floats on the 

surface 
Is as the tossing buoy, that betrays where the anchor is 

hidden. 
Therefore trust to thy heart, and to what the world calls 

illusions. 



M Ti (I. A 

I truly is oear tip wuy to the south- 

ward, 85B 

tip* bankfl of the Teche, be towi B &faur and 

St M;iriin. 
Tl • lonj _ l»ri«lo shall be given again to h< 

1 rid 
Tl the 1 in big flock and hi p- 

fold. 

! itiftil ifl the land, with it- prairies and I t- 

tr 

I i gard ll«i\viTs t and the bluest 

b< 860 

it- dome on tip* wall 

who dwell there I I it the 1 Loui 

•j 

With these n -■ and continued I 

ftlv ti be w rn hori- 

n 

ke | Q old( n w and i he lai 

Ml 

I vinklii : and -kv and U and 

I all "!i ti; ho touch, and molted and mil. 

Banging I en two skies, a cloud with edges 

I 1 tin boat, with it- dripping oars, on the motionless 

Pilled waa I - heart with incxpressil*!' 

net 87 ° 



EVANGELINE 75 

Touched by the magic spell, the sacred fountains of feel- 
ing 

Glowed with the light of love, as the skies and waters 

around her. 
Then from a neighboring thicket the mocking-bird, wildest 

of singers, 
Swinging aloft on a willow spray that hung o'er the water, 
Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music, 
That the whole air and the woods and the waves seemed 

silent to listen. 876 

Plaintive at first were the tones and sad ; then soaring to 

madness 
Seemed they to follow or guide the revel of frenzied 

Bacchantes. 
Single notes were then heard, in sorrowful, low lamenta- 
tion ; 
Till, having gathered them all, he flung them abroad in 

derision, 880 

As when, after a storm, a gust of wind through the tree- 
tops 

Shakes down the rattling rain in a crystal shower on the 

branches. 
With such a prelude as this, and hearts that throbbed with 

emotion, 
Slowly they entered the Teche, where it flows through the 

green Opelousas, 
And, through the amber air, above the crest of the wood- 

1 j 885 

land, 
Saw the column of smoke that arose from a neighboring 

dwelling ; — 
Sounds of a horn they heard, and the distant lowing of 

cattle. 



TG THE CRANE CLASSICS 

III. 

Near to the bank of the river, overshadowed by oaks from 
whose branches • 

Garlands of Spanish moss and of mystic mistletoe flaunted, 

Such as the Druids cut down with golden hatchets ^it Yule- 
tide, 890 

Stood, secluded and still, the house of the herd-man. A 
garden 

Girded it round about with a belt of luxuriant* blossoms, 

Filling the air with fragrana . The house itself was of 
timbers 

Hewn from the cypress-tree, and carefully fitted together. 

Large and low was the roof; and on Blender columns sup- 
ported, 805 

Rose-wreathed, vine-encircled, a broad and spacious ve- 
randa. 

Haunt of the humming-bird and the bee, extended around 
it. 

At each end of the house, amid tho flowers of the garden, 

Stationed the dove-cots were, as love's perpetual symbol, 

Scene- of endless wooing, and endless contentions of 
rival-. 900 

Silence reigned o'er the i>la< The line of shadow and 
sunshim 

Kan near the tops of the trees; but the house itself was in 
shadow, 

And from its chimney-top, ascending and slowly expand- 
ing 

Into the evening air, a thin blue column of smoke t 

Tn the rear of the house, from the garden gate, ran a 
pathway *° 8 



EVANGELINE 77 

Through the great groves of oak to the skirts of the limit- 
less prairie, 

Into whose sea of flowers the sun was slowly descending. 

Full in his track of light, like ships with shadowy canvas 

Hanging loose from their spars in a motionless calm in 
the tropics, 

Stood a cluster of trees, with tangled cordage of grape- 
vines. 910 

Just where the woodlands met the flowery surf of the 
prairie, 

Mounted upon his horse, with Spanish saddle and stirrups, 

Sat a herdsman, arrayed in gaiters and doublet of deer- 
skin. 

Broad and brown was the face that from under the Spanish 
sombrero 

Gazed on the peaceful scene, with the lordly look of its 
master. 915 

Round about him were numberless herds of kine that were 
grazing 

Quietly in the meadows, and breathing the vapory fresh- 
ness 

That uprose from the river, and spread itself over the land- 
scape. 

Slowly lifting the horn that hung at his side, and expand- 
ing 

Fully his broad, deep chest, he blew a blast, that re- 
sounded 920 

Wildly and sweU and far, through the still damp air of 
the evening. 

Suddenly out of the grass the long white horns of the cattle 

Rose like flakes of foam on the adverse currents of ocean. 



78 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



Silent a moment they gazed, then bellowing rushed o'er the 
prairie, 

And the whole mass became a cloud, a shade in the dis- 
tance. 925 

Then, as the herdsman turned to the house, through the 
gate of the garden 

Saw he the forms of the priest and the maiden advancing 
to meet him. 

Suddenly down from his horse he sprang in amazement, 
and forward 

Pushed with extended arms and exclamations of wonder; 

When they beheld his face, they recognized Basil the black- 
smith. 030 

Hearty his welcome was, as he led his guests to the garden. 

There in an arbor of roses with endless question and answer 

Gave they vent to their heart-, and renewed their friendly 
embraces, 

Laughing and weeping by turns, or sitting silent and 
thoughtful. 

Thoughtful, for Gabriel came not; and now dark doubts 
and misgivings 985 

Stole o'er the maiden's heart; and Basil, somewhat embar- 
rassed, 

Broke the silence and said, "If you came by the Atcha- 
f a lava, 

How have you nowhere encountered my Gabriel's boat on 
the bayous J " 

Over Evangeline's face at the word- rf Basil a Bhade 

passed. 

Tears came into her eve-, and she said, with a tremulous 
accent, * 940 



EVANGELINE 



79 



" Gone ? is Gabriel gone ? " and, concealing her face on his 
shoulder, 

All her overburdened heart gave way, and she wept and 
lamented. 

Then the good Basil said, — and his voice grew blithe as he 
said it, — 

" Be of good cheer, my child ; it is only to-day he de- 
parted. 

Foolish boy! he has left me alone with my herds and my 
horses. 945 

Moody and restless grown, and tried and troubled, his 
spirit 

Could no longer endure the calm of this quiet existence. 

Thinking ever of thee, uncertain and sorrowful ever, 

Ever silent, or speaking only of thee and his troubles, 

He at length had become so tedious to men and to maid- 
ens, 950 

Tedious even to me, that at length I bethought me, and 

sent him 
Unto the town of Adayes to trade for mules with the 

Spaniards. 
Thence he will follow the Indian trails to the Ozark 

Mountains, 
Hunting for furs in the forests, on rivers trapping the 

beaver. 
Therefore be of good cheer; we will follow the fugitive 

lover ; 955 

He is not far on his way, and the Fates and the streams 

are against him. 
Up and away to-morrow, and through the red dew of the 



morning, 



We will follow him fast, and bring him back to his prison.'" 



80 



THE CEAN"E CLASSICS 



Then glad voices were heard, and up from the banks of 

the river, 
Borne aloft on his comrades' arms, came Michael the 

fiddler. 960 

Lonp* under Basil's roof had he lived, like a god on 

Olympus, 
Having no other care than dispensing music to mortals. 
Far renowned was he for his silver locks and his fiddle. 
" Long live Michael," they cried, "our brave Acadian 

minstrel ! " 
As they bore him aloft in triumphal procession ; and 

straightway 965 

Father Felician advanced with Evangeline, greeting the 

old man 
Kindly and oft, and recalling the past, while Basil, en- 
raptured, 
Hailed with hilarious joy his old companions and gossips. 
Laughing loud and long, and embracing mothers and 

daughters. 
Much they marvelled to hear his tales of the soil and the 

blacksmith, 9T0 

All his domains and his herds, and his patriarchal de- 
meanor ; 
Much they marvelled to hear his tales of the soil and the 

climate, 
And of the prairies, whose numberless herds were his who 

would take them ; 
Each one thought in his heart, that he, too, would go and 

do likewise. 
Thus they ascended the steps, and, crossing the breezy 

veranda. 07r> 



EVANGELINE 81 

Entered the hall of the house, where already the supper 

of Basil 
Waited his late return ; and thev rested and feasted to- 

gether. 

Over the joyous feast the sudden darkness descended. 

All was silent without, and, illuming the landscape with 
silver, 

Fair rose the dewy moon and the myriad stars ; but within 
doors, 9S0 

Brighter than these, shone the faces of friends in the glim- 
mering lamplight. 

Then from his station aloft, at the head of the table, the 
herdsman 

Poured forth his heart and his wine together in endless pro- 
fusion. 

Lighting his pipe, that was filled with sweet Natchitoches 
tobacco, 

Thus he spake to his guests, who listened, and smiled as 
they listened: — 985 

" Welcome once more, my friends, who long have been 
friendless and homeless, 

Welcome once more to a home, that is better perchance 
than the old one ! 

Here no hungry winter congeals our blood like the rivers ; 

Here no stony ground provokes the wrath of the farmer ; 

Smoothly the ploughshare runs through the soil, as„a keel 
through the water. 

All the year round the orange-groves are in blossom; and 

grass grows 
More in a single night than a whole Canadian summer. 
—6 



82 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Here, too, numberless herds run wild and unclaimed in 

the prairies ; 
Here, too, lands may be had for the asking, and forests 

of timber 
With a few blows of the axe are hewn and framed into 

houses. " 5 

After jour houses are built, and your fields are yellow with 

harvests, 
Xo King George of England shall drive you away from 

your homesteads, 
Burning your dwellings and barns, and stealing your farms 

and your cattle." 
Speaking these words, he blew a wrathful cloud from his 

nostrils, 
While his huge, brown hand came thundering down on 

the table, 100 ° 

So that the guests all started ; and Father Felician, as- 
tounded, 
Suddenly paused, with a pinch of snuff half-way to his 

nostrils. 
But the brave Basil resumed, and his words were milder 

and gayer: — 
" Only beware of the fever, my friends, beware of the 

fever ! 
For it is not like that of our cold Acadian climate, 1005 
Cured by wearing a spider hung round one's neck in a 

nutshell ! " 
Then there were voices heard at the door, and footsteps 

approaching 
Sounded upon the stairs and the floor of the breezy ve- 
randa. 



EVANGELINE 83 

It was the neighboring Creoles and small Acadian planters, 

Who had been summoned all to the house of Basil the 
herdsman. 101 ° 

Merry the meeting Fas of ancient comrades and neighbors : 

Friend clasped friend in his arms ; and they who before 
were as strangers, 

Meeting in exile 1 , became straightway as friends to each 
other, 

Drawn by the gentle bond of a common country together. 

But in the neighboring hall a strain of music, proceed- 
ing 1015 

From the accordant strings of Michael's melodious fiddle, 

Broke up all further speech. Aw T ay, like children de- 
lighted, 

All things forgotten beside, they gave themselves to the 

maddening 

Whirl of the dizzy dance, as it swept and swayed to the 
music. 

Dreamlike, with beaming eyes and the rush of fluttering 

garments. 1020 

Meanwhile, apart, at the head of the hall, the priest and 
the herdsman 
Sat, conversing together of past and present and future; 
While Evangeline stood like one entranced, for within her 
Olden memories rose, and loud in the midst of the music 
Heard she the sound of the sea, and an irrepressible sad- 
ness. 1025 
-Came o'er her heart, and unseen she stole forth into the 

garden. 
Beautiful was the night, Behind the black wall of the 
forest, 



84 



THE CRAKE CLASSICS 



Tipping its summit with silver, arose the moon. On the 

river . . . 

Fell here and there through the branches a tremulous 

gleam of the moonlight, 
Like the sweet thoughts of love on a darkened and devious 

spirit. 1030 

Nearer and round about her, the manifold flowers of the 

garden 
Poured out their souls in odors, that were their prayers and 

confessions 
Unto the night, as it went its way, like a silent Carthusian. 
Fuller of fragrance than they, and as heavy with shadows 

s and night-dews, 

Hung the heart of the maiden. The calm and the magical 

moonlight 1035 

Seemed to inundate her soul with indefinable longings, 
As, through the garden gate, and beneath the shade of the 

oak-trees, 
Passed she along the path to the edge of the measureless 

prairie. 
Silent it lay, with a silvery haze upon it, and fire-flies 
Gleaming and floating away in mingled and infinite num- 
bers. ' 1040 
Over her head the stars, the thoughts of God in tin 1 heavens, 

Shone on the eyes of man, who had ceased to marvel and 

worship, 
Save when a blazing comet was seen on the walls of that 

temple, 
As if a hand had appeared and written upon them, 

" TTpharsin." 
And the soul of the maiden, between the Btars and the 

fire-flies, 104B 



EVANGELINE 85 

Wandered alone, and she cried, " O Gabriel ! O my be- 
loved ! 
Art thou so near unto me, and yet I cannot behold thee ? 

Art thou so near unto me, and yet thy voice does not reach 

me ? 
Ah ! how often thy feet have trod this path to the prairie ! 

Ah ! how often thine eyes have looked on the woodlands 
around me! 105 ° 

Ah ! how often beneath this oak, returning from labor, 

Thou hast lain down to rest, and to dream of me in thy 
slumbers ! 

When shall these eyes behold, these arms be folded about 
thee?" 

Loud and sudden and near the note of a whippoorwill 
sounded 

Like a flute in the woods ; and anon, through the neighbor- 
ing thickets, 1055 

Farther and farther away it floated and dropped into 
silence. 

" Patience ! " whispered the oaks from oracular caverns 
of darkness ; 

And, from the moonlit meadow, a sigh responded, ' To- 
morrow ! " 

Bright rose the sun next day; and all the flowers of 

the garden 
Bathed his shining feet with their tears, and anointed his 

tresses * loeo 

With the delicious balm that they bore in their vases of 

crystal. 
" Farewell!" said the priest, as he stood at the shadowy 

threshold ; 



86 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



u 



See that you bring us the Prodigal Son from his fast- 
ing and famine, 
And, too, the Foolish Virgin, who slept when the bride- 



groom was coming.'" 






" Farewell ! ' answered the maiden, and, smiling, with 
Basil descended 1065 

Down to the river's brink, where the boatmen already were 
waiting. 

Thus beginning their journey with morning, and sunshine, 
and gladness, 

Swiftly they followed the flight of him who was speeding 
before them, 

Blown by the blast of fate like a dead leaf over the desert. 

Not that day, nor the next, nor yet the day that suc- 
ceeded, 10T0 

Pound they trace of his course, in lake or forest or river, 

Nor, after many days, had they found him ; but vague and 
uncertain 

Rumors alone were their guides through a wild and deso- 
late country : 

Till, at the little inn of the Spanish town of Adayes, 

Weary and worn, they alighted, and learned from the gar- 
rulous landlord 1075 

That on the day before, with horses and guides and com- 
panions, 

Gabriel left the village, and took the road of the prairies. 

IV. 

Far in the West there lies a desert land, where the moun- 
tains 
Lift, through perpetual snows, their lofty and luminous 
summits. 



EVANGELINE 



87 



Down from their jagged, deep ravines, where the gorge, 

like a gateway, 108 ° 

Opens a passage rude to the wheels of the emigrant's 

wagon, 
Westward the Oregon flows and the Walleway and Owyhee, 
Eastward, with devious course, among the Wind-river 

Mountains, 
Through the Sweet-water Valley precipitate leaps the 

Nebraska ; 
And to the south, from Fontaine-qui-bout and the Spanish 

sierras, 1085 

Fretted with sands and rocks, and swept by the wind of 

the desert, 
Numberless torrents, with ceaseless sound, descend to the 

ocean, 
Like the great chords of a harp, in loud and solemn 

vibrations. 
Spreading between these streams are the wondrous, beauti- 
ful prairies, 
Billowy bays of grass ever rolling in shadow and sun- 
' shine, . 1090 

Bright with luxuriant clusters of roses and purple 

amorphas. 
Over them wandered the buffalo herds, and the elk and 

the roebuck; 
Over them wandered the wolves, and herds of riderless 

horses ; 
Fires that blast and blight, and winds that are weary with 

travel ; 
Over them wander the scattered tribes of IshmaePs chi 

dren. 



1095 



u 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



Staining tlie desert, with blood ; and above their terrible 
war-trails 

Circles and sails aloft, on pinions majestic, the vulture, 

Like the implacable soul of a chieftain slaughtered in 
battle, 

By invisible stairs ascending and scaling the heavens. 

Here and there rise smokes from the camps of these savage 
marauders: 110 ° 

Here and there rise groves from the margins of swift- 
running rivers ; 

And the grim, taciturn bear, the anchorite monk of the 
desert, 

Climbs down their dark ravines to dig for roots Iry the 
brook-side, 

And over all is the sky, the clear and crystalline heaven, 

Like the protecting hand of God inverted above them. 1105 



Into this wonderful land, at the base of the Ozark Moun- 
tains, 

Gabriel far had entered, with hunters and trappers be- 
hind him. 

Day after day, with their Indian guides, the maiden and 
Basil 

Followed his flying steps, and thought each day to o'ertake 
him. 

Sometimes they saw, or thought they saw, the smoke of 
his campfire lll ° 

Rise in the morning air from the distant plain; but at ■ 
nightfall, 

When they had reached the place, they found only embers 
and ashes. 



EVANGELINE 89 

And, though their hearts were sad at times and their 

bodies were weary, 
Hope still guided them on, as the magic Fata Morgana 
Showed them her lakes of light, that retreated and van- 
ished before them. mo 

Once, as they sat by their evening fire, there silently 

entered 
Into the little camp an Indian woman, whose features 
Wore deep traces of sorrow, and patience* as great as her 

sorrow. 
She was a Shawnee woman returning home to her people, 
From the far-off hunting-grounds of the cruel Ca- 

manches, 112 ° 

Where her Canadian husband, a coureur-des-bois, had been 

murdered. 
Touched were their hearts at her story, and warmest and 

friendliest welcome 
Gave they, with words of cheer, and she sat and feasted 

among them 
On the buffalo-meat and the venison cooked on the embers. 
But when their meal was done, and Basil and all his com- 

1125 

panions, 
Worn with the long day's march and the chase of the deer 

and the bison, 
Stretched themselves on the ground, and slept where the 

quivering firelight 
Flashed on their swarthy cheeks, and their forms wrapped 

up in their blankets, 
Then at the door of Evangeline's tent she sat and repeated 
Slowly, with soft, low voice, and the charm of her Indian 

accent, 



90 



THE CRAXE CLASSICS 



All the tale of her love, with its pleasures, and pains, and 
reverses. 

Much Evangeline wept at the tale, and to know that 
another 

Hapless heart like her own had loved and had been dis- 
appointed. 

Moved to the depths of her soul by pity and woman's com- 
passion, 

Yet in her sorrow pleased that one who had suffered was 
near her, 1135 

She in turn related her love and all its disasters. 

Mute with wonder the Shawnee sat, and when she had 
ended 

Still was mute ; but at length, as if a mysterious horror 

Passed through her brain, she spake, and repeated the tale 
of the Mowis ; 

Mowis, the bridegroom of snow, who won and wedded a 
maiden, 1140 

But, when the morning came, arose and passed from the 



wigwam, 



Fading and melting away and dissolving into the sunshine, 
Till she beheld him no more, though she followed far into 

the forest. 
Then, in those sweet, low tones, that seemed like a weird 

incantation, 
Told she the tale of the fair Lilinau, who was wooed by 

a phantom, 1145 

That, through the pines o'er her father's lodge, in the hush 

of the twilight, 
Breathed like the evening wind, and whispered love to the 

maiden, 

• 



EVANGELINE 91 

Till she followed liis green and waving plume through the 

forest, 
And nevermore returned, nor was seen again by her people. 
Silent with wonder and strange surprise Evangeline 

listened 1150 

To the soft flow of her magical words, till the region 

around her 
Seemed like enchanted ground, and her swarthy guest the 

enchantress. 
Slowly over the tops of the Ozark Mountains the moon 

rose, 
Lighting the little tent, and with a mysterious splendor 
Touching the sombre leaves, and embracing and filling the 

woodland. 1155 

With a delicious sound the brook rushed by, and the 

branches 
Swayed and sighed overhead in scarcely audible whispers. 
Filled with the thoughts of love was Evangeline's heart, 

but a secret, 
Subtle sense crept in of pain and indefinite terror, 
As the cold, poisonous snake creeps into the nest of the 

swallow. 1160 

It was no earthly fear. A breath from the region of spirits 
Seemed to float in the air of night; and she felt for a 

moment 
That, like the Indian maid, she, too, was pursuing a 

phantom. 
With this thought she slept, and the fear and the phantom 

had vanished. 



92 



THE CKANE CLASSICS 



Early vmon the morrow the march was resumed, and the 
Shawnee • 1165 

Said, as they journeyed along*, — " On the western slope 
of these mountains 

Dwells in his little village the Black Robe Chief of the 
Mission. 

Much he teaches the people, and tells them of Mary and 
Jesus ; 

Loud laugh their hearts with joy, and weep with pain, as 
they hear him." 

Then, with a sudden and secret emotion, Evangeline an- 
swered, 11T0 

" Let us go to the Mission, for there good tidings await 
us ! " 

Thither they turned their steeds ; and behind a spur of 
the mountains, 

Just as the sun went down, they heard a murmur of voices, 

And in a meadow green and broad, by the bank of a river, 

Saw the tents of the Christians, the tents of the Jesuit 
Mission. 1175 

Under a towering oak, that stood in the midst of the vil- 
lage, 

Knelt the Black Robe chief with his children. A crucifix 
fastened 

High on the trunk of the tree, and overshadowed by grape- 



vines, 



Looked with its agonized face on the multitude kneeling 

beneath it. 
This was their rural chapel. Aloft, through the intricate 
arches 1180 

Of its aerial roof, arose the chant of their vesper-. 



EVANGELINE 93 

Mingling its notes with the soft susurrus and sighs of the 
branches. 

Silent, with heads uncovered, the travellers, nearer ap- 
proaching, 

Knelt on the swarded floor, and joined in the evening de- 
votions. 

But when the service was done, and the benediction had 
fallen 1185 

Forth from the hands of the priest, like seed from the 
hands of the sower, 

Slowly the reverend man advanced to the strangers, and 
bade them 

Welcome; and when they replied, he smiled with be- 
nignant expression, 

Hearing the homelike sounds of his mother-tongue in the 
forest, 

And, with words of kindness, conducted them into his 
wigwam. 1190 

There upon mats and skins they reposed, and on cakes of 
the maize-ear 

Feasted, and slaked their thirst from the water-gourd of 
the teacher. 

Soon was their story told; and the priest with solemnity 
answered: — 

u Not six suns have risen and set since Gabriel, seated 

On this mat by my side, where now the maiden re- 
poses, 1195 

Told me this same sad tale ; then arose and continued his 
journey ! " 

Soft was the voice of the priest, and he spake with an 
accent of kindness; 



94 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



But on Evangeline's heart fell his words as in winter the 
snow 7 -flakes 

Fall into some lone nest from which the birds have de- 
parted. 

"Far to the north he has gone/' continued the priest; 
"but in autumn, 1200 

When the chase is done, will return again to the Mission.' 5 

Then Evangeline said, and her voice was meek and sub- 
missive, 

" Let me remain with thee, for my soul is sad and af- 
flicted." 

So seemed it wise and well unto all ; and betimes on the 
morrow, 

Mounting his Mexican steed, with his Indian guides and 

1 9ft ^ 

companions, 1ZVD 

Homeward Basil returned, and Evangeline stayed at the 
Mission. 

Slowly, slowly, slowly the days succeeded each other, — 
Days and weeks and months ; and the fields of maize that 

were springing 
Green from the ground when a stranger she came, now 

waving about her, 
Lifted their slender shafts, with leaves interlacing, and 

forming 1210 

Cloisters for mendicant crows and granaries pillaged by 

squirrels. 
Then in the golden weather the maize was husked, and 

the maidens 
Blushed at each blood-red ear, for that betokened a lover, 
But at the crooked laughed, and called it a thief in the 

cornfield. 



EVANGELINE 95 

Even the blood-red ear to Evangeline brought not her 
lover. 1215 

" Patience ! " the priest would s-ay ; " have faith, and thy 
prayer will be answered ! 

Look at this vigorous plant that lifts its head from the 
meadow, 

See how its leaves are turned to the north, as true as the 
magnet ; 

This is the compass-flower, that the finger of God has 
planted 

Here in the houseless wild, to direct the traveller's jour- 
ney 1220 

Over the sea-like, pathless, limitless waste of the desert. 

Such in the soul of man is faith. The blossoms of passion, 

Gay and luxuriant flowers, are brighter and fuller of fra- 
grance, 

But they beguile us and lead us astray, and their odor is 
deadly. 

Only this humble plant can guide us here, and here- 
after 1225 

Crown us with asphodel flowers, that are wet with the 
dews of nepenthe." 

So came the autumn, and passed, and the winter — yet 

Gabriel came not; 
Blossomed the opening spring, and the notes of the robin 

and bluebird 
Sounded sweet upon wold and in wood, yet Gabriel came 

not. 
But on the breath of the summer winds a rumor was 

wafted 1230 



96 



THE CRAKE CLASSICS 



Sweeter than song of bird, or hue or odor of blossom. 
Far to the north and east, it said, in the Michigan forests, 
Gabriel had his lodge by the banks of the Saginaw River* 
And, with returning guides, that sought the lakes of St. 

Lawrence, 
Saying a sad farewell, Evangeline went from the Mis- 
sion. 1235 
When over weary ways, by long and perilous marches, 

She had attained at length the depths of the Michigan 

forests, 
Found she the hunter's lodge deserted and fallen to ruin ! 

Thus did the long sad years glide on, and in seasons 

and places 
Divers and distant far was seen the wandering 

maiden; — 1240 

Now in the Tents of Grace of the meek Moravian Missions, 
Now in the noisy camps and the battlefields of the army, 
Now in secluded hamlets, in towns and populous cities. 
Like a phantom she came, and passed away unremembered. 
Fair was she and young, when in hope began the long 

journey; 1245 

Faded was she and old, when in disappointment it ended. 
Each succeeding year stole something away from her 

beauty, 
Leaving behind it, broader and deeper, the gloom and the 

shadow. 
Then there appeared and spread faint streaks of gray o'er 

her forehead, 

Dawn of another life, that broke o'er her earthly ho- 
rizon, 1250 

As in the eastern sky the first faint streaks of the morning. 



EVANGELINE 97 

V. 

In that delightful land which is washed by the Dela- 
ware's waters, 

Guarding in sylvan shades the name of Penn the apostle, 

Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream the city he 
founded. 

There all the air is balm, and the peach is the emblem of 
beauty, 1255 

And the streets still reecho the names of the trees of the 
forest, 

As if they fain would appease the Dryads whose haunts 
they molested. 

There from the troubled sea had Evangeline landed, an 

exile, 
Finding among the children of Penn a home and a coun- 

try, 

There old Pen 6 Leblanc had died ; and when he de- 
parted, . 1260 

Saw at his side only one of all his hundred descendants. 
Something at least there was in the friendly streets of the 
city, 

Something that spake to her heart, and made her no longer 

a stranger ; 
And her ear was pleased with the Thee and Thou of the 

Quakers, 
For it recalled the past, the old Acadian country, m 
Where all men were equal, and all were brothers and 

sisters. 

So, when the fruitless search, the disappointed endeavor, 

Ended, to recommence no more upon earth, uncomplain- 
ing, 

—7 - 



98 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



Thither, as leaves to the light, were turned her thoughts 

and her footsteps. 
As from a mountain's top the rainy mists of the morn- 
ing 12T0 
Roll awav, and afar we behold the landscape below us, 
Sun-illumined, with shining rivers and cities and hamlets, 
So fell the mists from her mind, and she saw the world 

far below her. 
Dark no longer, but all illumined with love ; and the 

pathway 
Which she had climbed so far, lying smooth and fair in 

the distance. 1275 

Gabriel was not forgotten. Within her heart was his 

imago, 
Clothed in the beauty of love and vouth, as last she be- 

held him, 
Onlv more beautiful made bv his deathlike silence and 

absence. 
Into her thoughts of him time entered not, for it was not. 
Over him years had no power; he was not changed, but 

transfigured ; 1280 

He had become to her heart as one who is dead, and not 

absent ; 
Patience and abnegation of self, and devotion to others, 
This was the lesson a life of trial and sorrow had taught 

her. 
So was her love diffused, but, like to some odorous spices. 
Suffered no waste nor loss, though filling the air with 

lOi,", 

aroma. 
Other hope had she none, nor wish in life, but to follow. 
Meekly with reverent steps, the sacred feet of her Saviour. 



EVAXGELIXE 99 

Thus many years she lived as a Sister of Mercy ; frequent- 
ing 

Lonely and wretched roofs in the crowded lanes of the 
city, 

•J 7 

Where distress and want concealed themselves from the 
sunlight, 1290 

"Where disease and sorrow in garrets languished neglected. 

Xight after night when the world was asleep, as the 

watchman repeated 

Loud, through the gustv streets, that all was well in the 
citv, 

High at some lonely window he saw the light of her taper. 

Day after day, in the gray of the dawn, as slow through 

the suburbs 1295 

Plodded the German farmer, with flowers and fruits for 

the market, 
Met he that meek, pale face, returning home from its 

watchings. 

Then it came to pass that a pestilence fell on the city. 

Presaged by wondrous signs, and mostly by flocks of wild 
pigeons, 

Darkening the sun in their flight, with naught in their 
craws but an acorn. 1300 

And, as the tides of the sea arise in the month of Sep- 
tember, 

Flooding some silver stream, till it spreads to a lake in 

the meadow, 
So death flooded life, and, o'erflowing its natural margin, 
Spread to a brackish lake the silver stream of existence. 
Wealth had no power to bribe, nor beauty to charm, the 

1305 

oppressor ; 
But all perished alike beneath the scourge of his anger; — 



100 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Only, alas ! the poor, who had neither friends nor attend- 
ants, 
Crept away to die in the almshouse, home of the homeless. 

Then in the suburbs it stood, in the midst of meadows and 

woodlands; — 
Now the city surrounds it; but still, with its gateway and 

wicket 1310 

Meek, in the midst of splendor, its humble walls seem to 

echo 
Softly the words of the Lord: — " The poor ye always have 

with you." 
Thither, by night and by day, came the Sister of Mercy. 

The dying 

Looked up into her face, and thought, indeed, to behold 

there 
Gleams of celestial light encircle her forehead with 

splendor. 1315 

Such as the artist paints o'er the brows of saints and 

apostles, 
Or such as hangs by night o'er a city scon at a distance. 
Unto their eyes it seemed the lamps of the city celestial, 
Into whose shining gate- erelong their spirits would enter. 



Thus, on a Sabbath morn, through the streets, deserted 
and silent, ' :20 

Wending Lor quiet way, she entered the door of the alms- 
house. 
Sweet on the summer air was the odor of flowers in the 

garden, 

And she paused on her way to gather the faireel among 

them, 
That the dying once more might rejoice in their fragrance 

and beauty. 



EVANGELINE 101 

Then, as she mounted the stairs to the corridors, cooled 

by the east-wind, 1325 

Distant and soft on her ear fell the chimes from the belfry 

of Christ Church, 
While, intermingled with these, across the meadows were 

wafted 
Sounds of psalms, that were sung by the Swedes in their 

church at Wieaco. 
Soft as descending wings fell the calm of the hour on her 

spirit ; 
Something within her said, " At length thy trials are 

ended ;" ' 13B0 

And, with light in her looks, she entered the chambers of 

sickness. 
Noiselessly moved about the assiduous, careful attendants, 

Moistening the feverish lip, and the aching brow, and in 

silence 
Closing the sightless eyes of the dead, and concealing their 

faces, 
Where on their pallets they lay, like drifts of snow by the 

roadside. • 1335 

Many a languid head, upraised as Evangeline entered, 
Turned on its pillow of pain to gaze while she passed, for 

her presence 
Fell on their hearts like a ray of the sun on the walls of a 

prison. 
And, as she looked around, she saw how Death, the con- 
soler, 
Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it for- 

1340 

ever. 
Many familiar forms had disappeared in the night-time ; 
Vacant their places were, or filled already by strangers. 



102 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Suddenly, as if arrested by fear or a feeling of wonder, 

Still she stood, with her colorless lips apart, while a shud- 
der 
Ran through her frame, and, forgotten, the flowerets 

dropped from her fingers, 1345 

And from her eyes and cheeks the light and bloom of the 

morning. 
Then there escaped from her lips a cry of such terrible 

anguish, 

That the dying heard it, and started up from their pillows. 

On the pallet before her was stretched the form of an old 

man. 
Long, and thin, and gray were the locks that shaded his 

temple- : 1350 

P>ut. as lie lav in the morning light, his face for a moment 
Seemed to assume once more the forms of its earlier man- 
hood ; 
So are wont to be changed the faces of those who are dying. 
Hot and red on his lips -till burned the flush of the fever, 
As if life, like the Hebrew, with blood had besprinkled its 
portals, 1355 

That the Angel of Death might see the sign, and pass over. 
Motionless, -enseless, dying, he lay, and his spirit ex- 
hausted 
Seemed to be sinking down through infinite depths in the 
darkness, 

Darkness of slumber and death, forever sinking and sink- 
ing. 

Then through those realms of shade, in multiplied rever- 
berations, 1 * 60 

Heard he that cry of pain, and through the hush that suc- 
ceed cd 

Whispered a gentle voice, in accents tender and saint-like, 



EVANGELINE 103 

" Gabriel ! O my beloved ! " and died away into silence. 

Then he beheld, in a dream, once more the home of his 
childhood ; u 

Green Acadian meadows, with sylvan rivers among 
them, 1365 

Village, and mountain, and woodlands ; and, walking 
under their shadow, 

As in the days of her youth, Evangeline rose in his vision. 

Tears came into his eyes ; and as slowly he lifted his eye- 
lids, 

Vanished the vision away, but Evangeline knelt by his 
bedside. 

Vainly he strove to whisper her name, for the accents un- 
uttered 1370 

Died on his lips, and their motion revealed what his tongue 
would have spoken. 

Vainly he strove to rise ; and Evangeline, kneeling beside 
him, 

Kissed his dying lips, and laid his head on her bosom. 

Sweet was the light of his eyes ; but it suddenly sank into 
darkness, 

As when a lamp is blown out by a gust of wind at a case- 
ment. 1375 

All was ended now, the hope, and the fear, and the 

sorrow, 
All the aching of heart, the restless, unsatisfied longing, 
All the dull, deep pain, and constant anguish of patience ! 
And, as she pressed once more the lifeless head to her 

bosom, 
Meekly she bowed her own, and murmured, " Father, I 

thank thee ! " 



104 



THE CKA^E CLASSICS 



Still stands the forest primeval ; but far away from its 

shadow, 
Side by side in their nameless graves, the lovers are sleep- 
ing. 
Under the humble walls of the little Catholic church-vard, 
In the heart of the city, they lie, unknown and unnoticed. 
Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing beside 

them, 1385 

Thousands of throbbing hearts, where theirs are at rest 

and forever, 
Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no longer are 

busy, 
Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from 

their labors, 
Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed 

their journey ! 

Still stands the forest primeval ; but under the shade 
of its branches 1390 

Dwells another race, with other customs and language. 

Onlv along the shore of the mournful and misty Atlantic 

Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile 

Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom. 

In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom are still 
busy; IM8 

Maidens still wear their Norman caps and their kirtles of 
homespun, 

And by the evening fire repeat Evangeline's story, 

While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring 
ocean 

Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the 

forest. 



NOTES. 



Line 3. Druids. A name applied to the priests among the Celts 
of Ancient Gaul and Great Britain. Their places of worship were in 
the forests ; they exercised also the functions of prophets, physicians, 
and judges. 

8. The two-fold nature of the calamity that befell the Acadians 
is foreshadowed in lines 8 and 9. The last three lines of the Prelude 
give the scope of the theme. 

15. Grand-Pre. A village on the Bay of Minas, on the northwest 
coast of Nova Scotia. A railway runs through it at the present 
day. Population now about six hundred. 

25. Turbulent tides. The tides on the coast of Nova Scotia are 
very strong, causing a marked swelling and subsiding of the streams. 

19-32. These lines give the geography of the place where the 
scene of the first events is laid. With the aid of a map of Nova 
Scotia the locality may be charted, and in this way more clearly 
realized. 

34. Normandy. A province in northern France. 

Reign of the Henries. Henry II., III., and IV. Kings of France 
who reigned during the last half of the 16th and the first years of 
the 17th century. 

49. Angelus. The bell tolled at stated times of the day, to indi- 
cate the time when prayers were to be said. 

1-57. Longfellow had not visited this locality; he probably got 
some hints for this description from Normandy, through which 
he had traveled. 

63. Hearty and hale. Phrase owing its form, and possibly its cur- 
rent use, to the effect of alliteration; like "cranny and crevice ' 
(130) and "bell and book" (657). Many phrases in common use 
have a like form — " fast and furious," " wild and woolly," etc. 

65. Seventeen summers. Compare the way in which the age of 
her father is stated ( 62 ) . 

72. Hyssop. A bushy herb used by the Israelites in sprinkling 
the purifying waters. 

74. Missal. A prayer-book. 

(105) 



106 



THE CKAXE CLASSICS 



94. Seraglio. The palace of the Sultan of Turkey; a name ap- 
plied to the residences of Eastern princes and their families. 

96. Penitent Peter. Reference to St. Matthew xxvi : 75. 

111. Patron Saint. The saint regarded as the particular pro- 
tector of the village. 

117. Since the birth of time. The poet possibly has in mind 
among others Tubal-cain. " an instructor of every artificer in brass 
and iron." (Gen. iv: 22.) 

122. Plain -song. A recitative in the church service. 

133. They irrre nuns. Each nun is thought of as carrying a 
light, and. as she disappears in the chapel, the light vanishes, re- 
sembling the disappearance of each glowing coal as it goes out. 

137. ^YondroKS stone. According to a belief current among the 
French peasants, the swallow would search on the beach for a cer- 
tain stone effective in restoring sight to the blind; she would carry 
this to her nest in order that her young might be made to see. 

144. Saint EulaUe. A Christian maiden of Barcelona, Spain, who 
suffered martyrdom under Emperor Diocletian. Her day in the 
calendar is Feb, 12. If the sun shone bright on this day, the en- 
suing season would be rich in fruit. 

14H. The sign of the scorpion. One of the signs of the zodiac. 
The sun enters this sign on the 23d of October. 

153. As Jacob of old. (Gen. xxxii: 24.) 

157. The predictions here are based on signs and observations 
quite common even to-day. Nature had provided the fox with a thick 
fur against an inclement winter: so also for the same reason the 
instinct of bees had impelled them to lay up abundant stores. 

1 59. Summer of All-Saints, Our Indian summer. The French 
have also given it the name of " Little Summer," and the Germans, 
" Old Women Summer." 

170. The plane-tree, A recollection of a passage from Herodo- 
tus, the historian, who relates (vii: 31) that as Xerxes was march- 
ing from Phrygia towards Lydia, he found a plane-tree of such 
beauty that he had it adorned with a golden jewel. The American 
plane-tree is generally known as the sycamore. 

172. Burden and heat. Biblical language. (Matt, xx : 12.) 

207. Carols of Christmas. Joyous songs in keeping with Christ- 
mas festivities. 



NOTES 107 

227. Jovial. Properly, it means to be born under the influence 
of the planet Jupiter. According to astrology, such people are of a 
cheerful and happy disposition. Compare " martial," " saturnine." 

234. Horseshoe. The finder of a horeshoe has a charm against 
lightning and fire. If it is nailed to the door-post in such a way 
that the points turn outward it will bring luck; reversed, it will 
bring bad luck. 

249. Louisourg. A town on the southeast coast of the island of 
Cape Breton, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It was founded by the 
French in 1713, surrendered to the English in 1745, passed back 
into the hands of the French in 1748, and in 1758 once more re- 
stored to the English. The population was once about three thou- 
sand; now it is only a little over one thousand, mostly fisher folk. 

Port Royal, now Annapolis. Town on the Bay of Fundy. Oldest 
settlement in Nova Scotia. 

260. The merry lads, etc. The unmarried men would build a 
house for the newly wedded couple, and provide it with the imme- 
diate necessaries for housekeeping. They would also break a por- 
tion of the ground adjoining and prepare it for tillage. 

280. Loup-garou. A man supposed to have the power of trans- 
forming himself into a wolf. This superstition existed among the 
Scythians, the Greeks, and the Romans, but it appears to have 
been especially prevalent in France during the reign of Louis XIV. 

281. The goblin. A domestic goblin who feeds and grooms the 
horses. He has often a favorite horse, and takes away the feed 
from the others and gives to this one. This superstition is widely 
diffused among German peoples. 

282. The .white Letiche. This story was brought into Acadia 
from Normandy. It is probably associated with the ermine and its 
milk-white color. The French word for milk is " lait " ; hence 
" Laitice," and finally " Letiche." 

285. Fever. To carry a spider in a nutshell on the chest was 
thought to cure the fever; it was also said to bring good luck. 
Compare line 1006. 

314. Ruled with an iron rod. (Rev. ii: 27.) 

354. Curfew. (Fr. couvre-feu.) Time (marked by the ringing 
of a bell) when all lights were to be put out and all fires safely 
covered over. An evening bell. The custom was brought into 
England by William the Conqueror. 



108 



THE CRAXE CLASSICS 



381. Young Ishmael. (Gen. xxi: 14.) 

398. All things were held in common. Compare Acts iv: 32; 
"blessed the cup." Compare I. Cor. x: 16. 

413. " Tous les Bourgeois de Chartres " and " Carillon de Dun- 
kerque " were the names of familiar melodies and folk-songs. 

441. Majesty's pleasure. This is the form in which royal proc- 
lamations end. 

461. Chancel. The chancel designates the space in a church ad- 
joining the altar, and generally separated from the rest of the church 
bv a screen or railing. 

466-481. Father Felician's appeal to his parishioners is made 
up, as would be expected, of exhortations to patience and forgive- 
ness. His counsels are the teachings and the language of the Bible: 
"To love one another"; "the Prince of Peace"; "Lo! where the 
crucified Christ from His cross is gazing upon you ! " " '0 Father, 
forgive them ! ' " 

486. Elijah ascending to heaven. (II. Kings ii: 11.) 

492. Emblazoned. Ornamented in rich and varied colors. 

507. Like the Prophet descending from Sinai. (Exodus xxxiv: 33.) 

522. Then she remembered the tale. The story told by Rene" 
Leblanc (306). 

573. This climax in the plot is remarkable for brevity and direct- 
ness. Lines 568 and 569 give the general situation; then follow in 
the next three lines specific instances of the calamities that befell 
these people; and, at the same time, these lines furnish a prepara- 
tion for the main event told in 573. 

597. Like unto shipwrecked Paul. (Acts xxvii:22.) 

605. " Benedicite." Bless you! Very often with the sense of 
bless me! bless us! 

615. Titan-like. The Titans were a race of giants of primordial 
times figuring in ancient classic mythology. 

622. From a hundred house-tops. Moreau, the French historian, 
says that 100 houses and 500 barns and stables were burned. Never- 
theless, there were left as plunder, besides household goods and im- 
plements, about 2000 oxen, 3000 cows, 600 horses, and 12,000 sheep. 

631. The Nebraska. The Platte tributary of the Missouri. 

657. Without bell or book. Without tolling the bell for the de- 



NOTES 109 

parted, the passing-bell; without the regular form of the burial 
service. 

660. Dirge. A funeral hymn. A hymn forming part of the serv- 
ice at funerals. One part of it began, " Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, 
in conspectu tuo viam meam." Direct, Lord, my God, my way in 
thy sight. 

668. Household gods. The Penates of the Romans, who were the 
special genii of the family. Here it means those household belong- 
ings that had been inherited, or that had become dear to them for 
some other reason. 

674. Savannas. Prairies. 

677. An allusion to the vast delta of the Mississippi. In the 
sand of which this delta is made up have been found the bones of 
animals now extinct; the mastodon and the mammoth, for instance. 

705. " Coureurs-des-bois." Runners of the woods. Whites who 
had adopted Indian modes and ways of life. They figure conspicu- 
ously in the early Indian wars. 

707. "Voyageurs." A class of men employed by the trading com- 
panies to transport goods between points in the wilds of Canada. 
They made their trips mostly on the rivers, and in small canoes. 

713. To braid St. Catharine's tresses. To take vows that pledge 
one to remain single. Catharine means " the one always pure." 
At a heathen festival St. Catharine offended the Emperor Maxen- 
tius by declaring the folly of idol-worship. She was thrown into 
prison, where, it is said, fifty -heathen philosophers were sent to 
convert her; but instead of accomplishing their purpose, they them- 
selves left the prison as Christians. She was beheaded in the year 
307; and angels carried her head to the top of Mount Sinai. The 
Catholic Church celebrates the 25th of November as the day of 
her death. 

733. Let me essay, O Muse! This is the epic manner from the 
times of Homer and Virgil to Milton. The deity or power whom the 
poet thought of as the patron of his verse was appealed to, often 
in an elaborate prologue. 

741. Month of May. Not the month of May next succeeding the 
October of the exile. A little further on (lines 911-974) we learn 
that Basil the blacksmith had lived long enough in his new home 
to become wealthy, to acquire vast herds, and to test the soil of the 
prairies. Father Felician, Evangeline and others evidently belonged 



110 



THE CKAXE CLASSK 



to those exiles who were left alone the Atlantic coast in Maryland 
and Virginia. After the lapse of some few years they resolved to 
seek their compatriots and Kindred in Louisiana. 

750, Acadian < This is a place in Louisiana, taking it^ 

name from the exiled Acadians who hail settled tint 
Opeloueas. Village about Bixty mile- west of Baton Kohl;*'. 

7-~>">. chut. Rapids. 

7.')7. Lagoon. An area ol water separated from the atream or 
i by sand-dunes. 

764. Q olden Coaet. This i- a name applied to a stretch of coun- 
try bordering on the Mississippi, in southern Louisiana. 

7«;<;. Bayou of Plaquemine. An inlet south from Baton Rotuj 

782. Shrinking mimosa. Sensitive plant : it will droop and cl< 

it- leaver ;it the -liirhtesj touch. 

807. Itehafalaya. <>ne ol the arms ol the Mississippi. 

so'.*. /.<,tus. "The lotus- tree; native in northern Africa and 
southern Europe, it yields ;* pleasant-flavored fruit, the sice ol an 
olive." I ( '< nt a rii Dictionary. | 

sin. Wachita, or Ouachita, i- the name ol m river in northern 
Louisiana. 
B21. Loddet Jacob. Bee (Jen. sxviii: l_. 
■<;. Techi Tributary t«» the Atchafalaya Bayou. On its hanks 

an- Incited the town- ol 8t Maur and St. Martin, which were 

founded by the Jesuit mis>ionaii< 

^;s Frentfied J'>a<<h<iut< $, A Bacchante was ;• woman who took 
part in th<- celebration at tin- festivals ol Bacchus. An intoxicated 
person indulging in noisy revelry. 

ssi). tir misti< toe. A parasitic plant well known in Europe 

and Amerii The ancient Druid-, when they chanced to And it on 

the oak (where it Seldom • Cttl it down and Used it for religious 

purposes. 
908. Shadowy annus. Bails made ol dark material! or else, ;>- i- 

often the <•.!-.-. ed with tar. 

918. Doublet. A jacket or otner close-fitting garment for the 
upper part of the body. 

it. Sombrero. A I. broad-brimmed bat ol strati or felt. 

first worn by the Mexi< but now in general use through Hie 

West, particularly among the cowboys. 






NOTES 111 

047. This quiet existence. This line suggests a contrast between 
Gabriel and Evangeline with respect to character and mood. 
Gabriel's restlessness prompts to action, but action without a pur- 
pose; Evangeline's, on the other hand, also to action, but with a 
very definite purpose. 

953. Ozark Mountains extend northeast and southwest between 
the Arkansas and Missouri rivers. These mountains traverse parts 
of Arkansas, Missouri, and Indian Territory. 

956. Fates. The destinies supposed to preside over the birth, 
life, and death of human beings. Their names in mythology are 
Clotho, Lachesis, and Athropos. Here the meaning is his bad luck 
so far as making progress is concerned; the necessity of rowing 
against the streams. 

957. Red dew. The dew in which the morning sun is mirrored 
as red. 

970. Ci-devant. A French word meaning " former." 

1004. Fever. The yellow fever. Compare line 285. 

1009. Creoles. Native whites, especially applied to native French 
or Spanish as distinguished from white settlers born in Europe. 

1033. Silent Carthusian. This is an order of monks instituted in 
France in 1084. This order made it a duty for its members to 
observe silence. The name is derived from Chartreux, the place 
where their first monastery was erected. 

1044. Upharsin. (Daniel v: 25.) " Mene, Mene, Tekel, Uphar- 
sin." " Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." 

1063. Prodigal Son. (St. Luke xv. ) 

1064. Foolish Virgin. (St. Matt, xxv.) 

1082. Oregon. The Columbia river. It receives the Walloway, 
and, through the Snake river, the Owyhee as tributaries. 

1083. Wind-river Mountains. A mountain range in Wyoming, 
running northwest and southeast. It forms the dividing crest of 
the continent, so that on one side of it the streams flow into the 
Pacific, on the other into the Atlantic. 

1084. The Sweet -water River rises at the southern end of the 
Wind-river Mountains. 

1091. Amorphas. Sometimes known by the names of ' false in- 
digo " or " lead-plant." 



112 



THE CEAXE CLASSICS 



1095. IshmaeVs children. Indians, who. like Ishmael and Hagar, 
were driven out into the desert. (Gen. xxi: 14.) 

1106. Into this wonderful land at the base of the Ozark Moun- 
tains. The description in lines 1078-1105 comprises a vast part of 
western United States. The Columbia and the Platte rivers form 
a general northern boundary. From these it extends southward, in- 
cluding the Sierras, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains. 
The base of the Ozark Mountains is mentioned merely as a point 
on the extreme eastern line. 

1114. Fata Morgana. A mirage; an optical illusion often seen 
in deserts. Object- Buch a- vessels, tree-, buildings, appear as if 
su-pended in the air. 

111!). Shawnee. The shawnees are a tribe of Indians, who, during 

the early French and English wars, were the allies now of the 
French, now of the English. s "ine of them were located in Mis- 
souri in the early part of the last centurx. Tl [ the tribe that 
BUrvive are now on agencies in Indian Territory. 

1120. Can War-like Indians originally occupying tracts 

of territory in Texas and Colorado. Most of them are now on reser- 
vation-. 

1139. M(jnis. A legend relates that an Indian youth was cruelly 
jilted by hi- beloved. The protecting genius of the young man, to 
avenge him. caused him to fashion an image of a youth mostly from 
(•hi rags limed together with BUOW. Manitou assisted, made him 
alive and gave him the name of Blowisj /'.<.. rag man. The Indian 
girl fell in love with Mowi8, and was married to him. On the 
morning after the wedding, they Btarted on a journey; but the Bun 
dissolved the -now of which Mowis was made. BO that he was re- 
duced to ugliness before her eyes, and finally vanished alto^etlu 
When -he found that her lover was to return no more, she lay 
down and died. 

1145. Fair IAlinOU. Lilinau. the daughter of a famous Indian 

chief, was wont to seek distant and desert places, where she -.wo. 

herself up to her own musings. She was warned by her mother to 

e these trips, but without avail. A husband was selected for 

her. and the day Bet for the wedding. She decked herself for tiie 

remony and put flowers in her hair: but she begged to be allowed. 

as a favor, to visit her retreat in the forest once more. Thia WSJ 

granted, but she never returned. The only thin- ever heard <»f her 



NOTES 113 

fate was that a fisherman had seen her carried away by a spirit, 
whose hair was decked with green feathers. 

1167. Black Robe Chief. Called thus by the Indians on account 
of the black garment which the missionary wore. 

1181. Vespers. Evening service. 

1212. Golden weather. Our Indian summer. 

1213. Blushed at each blood-red ear. Compare Hiawatha, XIII: 

" And whene'er some lucky maiden 
Found a red ear in thejiusking, 
1 Noska ! s cried they all together, 
' You shall have a handsome husband 9 ; 
And whene'er a youth or maiden 
Found a crooked ear in husking, 
Then they laughed and sang together, 
Mimicked in their gait and gestures 
Some old man bent almost double." 

1226. Asphodel. In Homer a flower that grows on the meadows 
of the underworld. 

Nepenthe. A drug mentioned by Homer as giving relief from 
grief and sorrow. 

1241. Moravian Missionaries. The Moravian Brethren, a religious 
community tracing its origin to the followers of John Huss. Of all 
the reformed churches this was the earliest and most active in 
missionary work. 

1253. Penn the apostle. William Penn, one of the foremost 
among the Quakers; born in London in 1644, died 1718. In 1683 
he founded the c*ty of Philadelphia. 

1297. Pestilence. A pestilence, the yellow fever, ravaged Phila- 
delphia in 1793. 

1298. Then it came to pass. Biblical expression, as for instance, 
St. Matt, ix: 10. 

1299. Presaged by wondrous signs. An ancient superstition often 
given literary form as in Virgil, Caesar, Herodotus. One of the few 
instances in the poem in which the author shows a leaning toward 
ancient classic forms. 

1312. The poor. See St. Mark xiv: 7. 

1318. City celestial. Reference to Rev. xxi: 10. 

1326. Christ Church. One of the principal churches of Phila- 
—8 



114 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 



delphia. During the time of the Revolution, Washington, Jefferson 
and Franklin attended it regularly. Franklin lies buried in the 
adjoining churchyard. 

1328. The Swedes. They settled in and around Philadelphia in 
1631. At first they held services in Fort Christina, but in 1667 
they built a small wooden church about two miles from the fort. 
A few years later a blockhouse in Wicaco (now a part of Phila- 
delphia) was used as a church. This building afforded some pro- 
tection against the Indians, who were not to be depended upon. 
It was here that Evangeline heard them singing psalms, the chorals 
used in the church service. 

1354. Like the Hebrew. A reference to Exodus xii: 7. 

1364. Then he beheld, etc. This is not a mere poetic vision that 
the poet grants Gabriel. In cases of fever, reminiscences like these 
will crowd upon the patient with astounding reality. Here it was 
of course prompted by Evangeline's voice and presence. 

1388. ^Yhere theirs have eeased from their labors. See Rev. 
xiv: 13. 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY. 



The diacritical marks here used are those found in Webster's 
International Dictionary. 

Acadie (a-ka-de')- 

Aca'dian. 

Ada'yes. 

Angelus Domini (an'je-liis dom'i-ni). 

Atchafalaya (ach-a-fa-ll'a). 

Bacchantes ( bak-kan'tez ) . 

Bacchus (bak'iis). 

Beau S'jour (bo sa-zhoor'). 

Benedig'ite. 

Benedict Belle-fontaine'. 

Caman'cheg. 

Cape Bret'on. 

Chartreaux (shar-tre'). 

ci-devant (se-de-vaiih') 

coureurs-des-boisCkoo^er-da-bwa). 

couvre-feu (koo'vr-fe).- 

Evangeline. 

Fa'ta Morga/na. 

Father Felician (fe-lish'-i-an). 

Fontaine-qui-bout (fonh'tan-ke-boo) . 

Gabriel Lajeunesse (la-zhe-nes'). 

Gasperau ( gas-pe-ro' ) . 

Grand-Pre (granh-pra/). 
Le Carillon de Dunkerque 

(le kar-e-yonh' de dun-kerk'). 
Letiche (la-tesh'). 
Lilinau (le'li-no). 
Louisburg (loo'i-burg). 

(115) 



AUG 16 1904 

116 PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 

Loup-garou (loo-gar-oo'). 

Melita (me-le'ta). 

Minas (me'nas). 

Mowis (mo^es). 

Natchitoches (nack'e-tosh). 

nepenthe. 

Opelousas (op-e'loo'sas). 

Owyhee. 

Plaquemine, Bayou of (plak-men', bioo). 

Eene Leblanc (re-na/ le-blanhk'). 

St. Maur (sanh mor'). 

seraglio (se-ral'yo). 

Teche (tash). 

Tous les Bourgeois de Chartres 

(too la boor-zhwa' de shartr). 
Upharsin (u-far'sm). 
voyageur (vwa-ya-zher'). 
Wachita (wosh'e-taw). 
Walleway (wol'e-wa). 
were-wolf. 
Wicaco (we-ka'ko). 






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